You Are as Guilty as Your Husband

Adult children visiting their parents so the grandchildren can visit sounds lovely. Unless the grandfather has a loaded shotgun behind his bedroom door.

The young cousins were in the grandparents’ bedroom watching a movie while their parents and grandparents visited in another room. Everyone ran to the bedroom when they heard a shot ring out.

A 6-year-old boy had picked up the shotgun leaning against the wall behind the door, pointed it at his 5-year-old cousin and pulled the trigger. The victim’s 8-year-old sister was in the room at the time and witnessed the tragedy.

A parent’s worst nightmare had happened—their young son died while at his grandparents’ home.

When the authorities arrived, the grandfather told them he didn’t know how the shooting happened because he kept his shotgun unloaded. He also said the gun had been behind the bedroom door for ten years. It was used to kill critters.

They arrested the 62-year-old grandfather and charged him with violating the state’s safe storage law. He pleaded no contest. A jury convicted him on the safe storage law.

The presiding judge sentenced him to a minimum of 38 months to a maximum of 15 years in prison.

At the grandfather’s sentencing, the judge said,

“All this stuff about the gun not being loaded, is you trying to get yourself out of this situation.”

They had also arrested the 65-year-old grandmother and charged her with same safe storage violation as her husband. The day before her trial was to begin, she pleaded guilty to second-degree child abuse. The judge sentenced her to 10-to-23 months in county jail.

At her sentencing, the judge said,

“The court thinks jail time is appropriate … you are just as guilty as your husband.”

Source: CBS News, NBC Wood TV 8, ABC 13 On Your Side

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