84 year-old woman shoots son-in-law from 220 Yards away!

Elderly woman kills son-in-law


By Associated Press



MURFREESBORO, Ark. -- An 84-year-old woman fatally shot her son-in-law with a rifle from more than 200 yards away in an apparent family feud over rural land, prosecutors said.

Gertrude Raines was arraigned Monday on second-degree murder charges and remained in jail Wednesday in lieu of $75,000 bail. No trial date was set.

Charles Davis, 62, was shot in the abdomen from 220 yards away with a .22-caliber rifle while he was working on the roof of a cow shelter, authorities said. The rifle did not have a scope.

"There's no self-defense," Prosecutor Tom Cooper said.

Johnnye Ruth Davis, the woman's daughter and Davis' wife, said she and her husband were standing next to each other "minding our own business" when he was shot Jan. 9.

"It's something you could never imagine happening and certainly not by your own mother," Johnnye Ruth Davis said.

The couple's property borders Raines' home in rural Pike County. Johnnye Ruth Davis said her mother believed she owned the land the couple was living on.

"My mother had mental problems, and there were a lot of things that were going on," she said.

It could not be immediately determined Wednesday night whether Raines had retained an attorney.

Circuit Judge Ted Capeheart ordered Raines to undergo a mental health evaluation.

Cooper said that when deputies searched Raines' home, they found it dirty and in disarray.

"They caught 29 cats," he said. "There were at least 20 more that they couldn't catch."

Murfreesboro is about 50 miles northeast of Texarkana.


I wish I could make that shot.