Husband Mistakes Wife For Intruder, Kills Her

dwarven1

dwarven1

Lonely Mountain Arms
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Make sure of your target.
Make sure of your target.
Make sure of your target.
Make sure of your target.

http://www.wapt.com/news/14962750/detail.html

Husband Mistakes Wife For Intruder, Kills Her

POSTED: 12:01 pm CST January 2, 2008

NATCHEZ, Miss. -- A Natchez man shot and killed his wife when he mistook her for an intruder in their home, according to police.

Police Chief Mike Mullins said Glenn and Deborah Mizell awoke around 4 a.m. Tuesday to the sound of their barking dog. Mullins said Glenn Mizell went to investigate, taking a pistol with him.

Mullins said Glenn Mizell began checking through the house and was unaware his wife had left the bedroom and gone into the kitchen. Mullins said when Mizell saw her figure in the dark, he fired his gun once.

Authorities said he shot Deborah Mizell, 49, once in the chest and died at the scene.

Mullins said a preliminary investigation shows the shooting was an accident.
Click to expand...
 
Sounds a little funny to me. I'm sure this kind of thing
has happened, but, the suspicion level is right up there with
the "I was cleaning my gun and it went off" (and hit my wife in the
back of the head) crowd. [rolleyes]

-Mike
 
And Loudly Communicate Your Intentions to Shoot

dwarven1 said:
Make sure of your target.
Click to expand...

And loudly communicate your intented actions before you shoot: "I have a gun and I'm going to shoot! (etc., etc.)"

This may avoid accidently killing or injuring a loved one or friend.
 
Hanlon's Razor: "Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity."

It would not surprise me in the least if this was just stupidity on the part of the husband. A couple years ago in RI, a man and his adult son went deer hunting. They separated. The father saw movement in a bush and fired. You guessed it, the movement was his adult son. Same thing -- he was not sure of his target.
 
M1911 said:
Hanlon's Razor: "Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity."

It would not surprise me in the least if this was just stupidity on the part of the husband. A couple years ago in RI, a man and his adult son went deer hunting. They separated. The father saw movement in a bush and fired. You guessed it, the movement was his adult son. Same thing -- he was not sure of his target.
Click to expand...

Yes and though tragic, one does not announce to a deer: "I have a gun and I'm going to shoot"....In that scenario, one would visually identify the target before shooting. The moron described above certainly could have announced his intentions or lit up his intended target. We should set up a board - I'd be willing to wager that in the coming days, this idiot is brought up on murder charges....
 
Just to [pot]... how is this different from Mark Ragsdale? Most of the comments on NES on Mr Ragsdale's case are in his favor.

My read from the article was that the hubby heard noise and went to investigate. Didn't realize that wifey wasn't in the bed. I can see that happening - I've not realized that my own wife wasn't in the bed when I woke up in the middle of the night at times.

So... was he careless - just saw an intruder and shot - or was he trying to get a divorce with Gaston Glock as his lawyer? I can't tell from the bare bones presented by the article. What's your take?

Discuss.
 
If I heard something funny going on in my house the FIRST thing I would be looking for is the wife.
 
dwarven1 said:
Just to [pot]... how is this different from Mark Ragsdale? Most of the comments on NES on Mr Ragsdale's case are in his favor.

My read from the article was that the hubby heard noise and went to investigate. Didn't realize that wifey wasn't in the bed. I can see that happening - I've not realized that my own wife wasn't in the bed when I woke up in the middle of the night at times.

So... was he careless - just saw an intruder and shot - or was he trying to get a divorce with Gaston Glock as his lawyer? I can't tell from the bare bones presented by the article. What's your take?

Discuss.
Click to expand...

I didnt really comment on the Ragsdale case, but for both cases I say let them hang by jury. No one and I mean no one should take shots in the dark, the chances are far too high for the death of a loved one, death of a wrong party, ricochet, the list goes on and on . Its reckless endangerment no matter how you look at it.


Also....COM in the dark with one shot? Divorce by Galston as you stated. :) I too am wondering if they will bring charges against him, if not the wifes family certainly would be able to.
 
One night my youngest was coming up the stairs - around 2 in the morning. One of us shifted in bed, and he quietly but firmly called out 'Mom, it's only me!'. Poor kid thought one of us was going for a gun. That's when I realized he was truly worried about getting shot. I felt bad, but I told him we would always call out that we had a gun and were prepared to use it before we fired (we weren't going to!). Always pay attention, always know your target!
 
The lessons here go beyond "know your target."

Presuming you have armed yourself for the purpose (amongst others) of being able to deal with a "wake up to a noise in the house" situation, you need a plan that all in the house understand and that has been drilled a few times.

The story doesn't say whether he woke her before he left the rack. He should have.

She should have had a designated place to stay, in that room, and understood that she was not to leave that spot until he cleared or it was clear that he was down and the BG was advancing.

In fact, she should have been on the phone to the PD.
 
RKG said:
In fact, she should have been on the phone to the PD.
Click to expand...
+1
That is precisely the drill between the wife and I, the phone is her side of the bed, the pistol and mag light is my side. I've told her numerous times that if I am ever forced to arm myself at night, she is to start dialing and stay put. The Mag light is to ensure I don't shoot anything that is not a threat.
That being said, this story could go either way. If this gentleman is the victim of his own stupidity, I don't condone his decision making process, but I do feel bad for him. If this is cold blooded, may he get what's coming to him here or in the hereafter.
 
Personally, if I wake up in the night, I tend to listen and see what woke me... I don't move immediately, and I try to find out where my wife is. As those of us who are over 40 know, we tend to get up more in the night for certain reasons. [sad]

But I wasn't there, so I don't know what was going through this guys head. It'll be interesting to see how it plays out. If he really was going for a Glock divorce, folks will know that there was trouble, and it will come out. If he was just stupid... well, he's got to live with his stupidity.
ohlord.gif
 
Sounds like a case of murder to me since you asked for opinions.

If the wife wasn't with him in bed when he noticed the noises, he's going to check for her first. If she's not there, she's making the noises, he goes back to sleep.

If the wife was with him in bed when he noticed the noises, she isn't about to go wandering around the house when he's prowling around with a gun and there could be a scary bad guy out there.
 
That guy was plain stupid or purposeful in his actions.

I recently had an incident in my home where I was awakened by a noise (door open alarm) and expected that my husband was at work that night. My daughter was asleep in my bed so I got up and locked the bedroom door. I then proceeded to call my husband's cell phone, and when that was unanswered, I called my house phone. It turned out that it was my husband at home after all.

I wouldn't expect an intruder to answer my home phone in the midst of a break-in and if I actually had an intruder, I say they can take the whole house as long as they leave me and my family alone. If they try to break down my bedroom door, then we enter into a self defense issue.
 

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