85-year-old woman kills home intruder in act of self-defence ‘heroism’
Police in Idaho said an 85-year-old woman exhibited “heroism, fortitude, and a will to live” after she fatally shot a man who broke into her home, handcuffed her to a chair and made threats to kill her.
The woman, identified by local authorities as Christine Jenneiahn, was also shot several times during the home invasion on March 13.
Bingham County prosecutor Ryan W. Jolley released a lengthy statement about the attack on Tuesday after the shooting was determined to be in self-defence and was ruled a justifiable homicide.
The home invader, Derek Condon, is believed to have entered Jenneiahn’s home near Blackfoot, Idaho, around 2 a.m. local time while she was sleeping.
Jenneiahn’s son, who Jolley said is disabled, was also asleep in the house at the time of the attack. Jenneiahn told police she was woken by an unfamiliar man in her bedroom. Condon, who was wearing a military jacket and a black ski mask, brandished a gun and a flashlight as he forced Jenneiahn from her bed.
“Subsequent investigation indicates a strong likelihood that Condon struck Christine in the head as she lay in her bed, as there was blood on the pillow and floor in her room where she’d been sleeping,” Jolley wrote.
Jenneiahn told police she had hit her head at some point during the attack but was unsure when.
Condon handcuffed Jenneiahn to a wooden chair in her living room, according to police. While holding his gun, a 9-millimetre pistol, he demanded to know where Jenneiahn kept her valuables.
She pointed Condon to two safes downstairs, which he searched, along with the rest of the house.
At some point while Condon was searching through the basement, Jenneiahn reportedly dragged the chair she was handcuffed to into her bedroom to retrieve a
Read more on globalnews.ca
