Regards, Ivan
Posted on 03/30/2006 2:29:34 AM PST by MadIvan
A woman accused of murdering her husband of two months, said yesterday that she shot him accidentally as she danced provocatively for him with his shotgun to the music of Shania Twain.
Linda West, 49, was called upon to demonstrate in court how she had gyrated to the song Man! I Feel Like a Woman, using a broom handle to represent the gun.
She said she had decided to arouse her husband Gregory, 45, who was wearing only a dressing gown after getting out of the bath. It was a "sexual game" that had tragic consequences, she said.
Mr West was found dead in an armchair by police after his wife made a hysterical 999 call. He had a single shotgun wound to his chest.
Giving evidence in her defence at Winchester Crown Court, Hants, West said they had shared a "lovely evening" at their Southampton home. They had drunk wine and she had run a bath for her husband.
When he came out of the bathroom she decided to put on a show and began dancing to the music of the country singer, which was playing on a stereo. The song contains erotically-charged lyrics.
She said Mr West then disappeared into the bedroom of their flat and reappeared with his BSA500 shotgun and asked her to dance with it.
West re-enacted her moves using the broom handle, telling the jury: "I'm holding the barrels of the gun and I'm dancing holding the gun. I was entertaining my husband."
She said that at the end of the song she put the shotgun on to the floor beside her. With tears streaming down her face she said: "It just went off…it just went bang."
A weapons expert told the court that the safety catch, used to prevent the accidental firing of the gun, was faulty and it could have gone off without anyone touching the trigger. West told the court that she was unaware of the fault.
The prosecution claims the couple had argued after drinking and West had deliberately shot her husband, a marine engineer, in anger. Neighbours had reported hearing shouting coming from their flat.
West insisted that she had been cavorting to fulfil her husband's fantasy, when tragedy struck.
"It was a game, it was a game", she said. "It was just a sexual game."
Describing her hysterical reaction after the gun went off, West said: "I was trying to wake him up. I was slapping his face and trying to open his eyes, and he just wouldn't wake up."
Asked why she had not mentioned the sex game when interviewed by police, she said she had been confused.
The jury has heard that Mr West, a keen shooter, had been wearing only a blue dressing gown and no underwear at the time of his death.
In her 999 call West had said: "We were playing with a gun, it just went off. I don't believe it."
Armed police surrounded the flat before finally entering the property and arresting her.
Tests showed that West had consumed a quantity of alcohol that was more than twice the legal drink-driving limit.
She denies murdering her husband on May 9 last year. She also denies manslaughter.
The trial continues.
Ping!
(Denny Crane: "I Don't Want To Socialize With A Pinko Liberal Democrat Commie. Say What You Like About Republicans. We Stick To Our Convictions. Even When We Know We're Dead Wrong.")
Note to self, no guns in certain situations.
My fitness trainer uses that song in my aerobics session cooldown. The problem here was that it was being used for a warmup. I think it needs to be regulated.
You're welcome.
There are some tragedies you just shouldn't joke about. Fortunately, this isn't one of them...
Are you guys buying her story? I wouldn't be too sure.
Death by stupidity
wOOps. Guess working on the rear differntial of the Chevy with a Casull is on the no-no list.
Sounds suspicious doesn't it? Kind of like the Clinton administration's excuses about it only being about sex.
(Denny Crane: "I Don't Want To Socialize With A Pinko Liberal Democrat Commie. Say What You Like About Republicans. We Stick To Our Convictions. Even When We Know We're Dead Wrong.")
Are you guys buying her story? I wouldn't be too sure
I would have to see what she looked like first...
'a blue dressing gown'
Another lawsuit against the manufacturer.
A shotgun is no substitute for a brass poll.
i just had to ping you to this story :-)
Bull feathers.
Guns don't "just go off."
The "weapons expert" the defense dug out of the gutter doesn't convince me either. Moreover, the testimony of neighbors hearing an argument nails it for me.
The probability of a firearm discharging by "placing it on the floor" is very remote. I believe she murdered him.
I bet she doesn't look like Shania Twain.
Linda West, 49
If I ever want my next wife/GF to dance with a shotgun while I don women's clothing I would expect her to shoot me, too.
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