PLEASANT TOWNSHIP
Husband's slaying an accident, wife says
Gun discharged during cleaning, deputies told
Tuesday, January 19, 2010 3:02 AM
By Theodore Decker
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
A woman told Franklin County deputies yesterday that she unintentionally shot her husband in their Pleasant Township mobile home while she cleaned spilled water off a shotgun.
Timothy Sheehan, 38, died in Doctors Hospital.
Deputies said they were called at 11:15 a.m. to 106 Red Oak Dr. W. in the Oak Hills Mobile Home Park at 5965 Harrisburg-Georgesville Rd. The park is south of Darbydale.
Sheehan's wife, Melissa, said she had been cleaning up water in a bedroom after a cat knocked over a glass, detective Drew McEvoy said. The water got on a loaded shotgun kept beneath a bed, and the gun discharged as she wiped down the weapon, he said.
The round struck her husband in the upper body as he sat nearby at a computer desk.
Two sons, ages 17 and 21, were home when the shooting occurred. A teenage daughter wasn't, a neighbor said.
Detectives remained at the home throughout the afternoon to determine whether the physical evidence corroborated the wife's story, but McEvoy said it initially did appear to be "a horrible accident."
Chris Hicks said the family moved in about three months ago. They were good neighbors, he said.
Hicks' girlfriend quickly grew close with Mrs. Sheehan. The women had talked excitedly about their mutual plans to improve their properties once spring arrived, he said.
His girlfriend drove Mrs. Sheehan to the hospital. She later told him Mrs. Sheehan was devastated and in shock.
Hicks said Mr. Sheehan worked nights and once dashed to the aid of Hicks' 10-year-old son when the boy fell off his bike. That showed the family's character, he said.
"It's just one of those terrible, unfortunate accidents that you wish wouldn't happen to such nice people," he said.
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Seriously?