Police: Army Veteran Shoots Wife While Unloading Shotgun

[Barrett808]

COCONUT CREEK, Fla. -- An Army veteran who recently returned from a tour of duty in Iraq claims he accidentally shot and killed his wife while he was unloading his shotgun, police said.

Coconut Creek police said 46-year-old Mary Lindsey was fatally wounded in the bedroom of her home at 3714 Cocoplum Circle at about 10 p.m. Sunday. Her husband, Joshua Lindsey, told investigators he was unloading the shotgun because she did not want it inside the house.

Police said Lindsey died of multiple gunshot wounds to the chest. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

Joshua Lindsey, whose 21st birthday is Aug. 23, has not been charged, but police said they are investigating.

http://www.local10.com/news/9675224/detail.html

[aceman2373]

1. he accidentally shot her multiple times?????

[Lerkfish]

4. who is he, Claudine Longet?

a reference for old folks like me.

[kestrel91316]

44. I've never forgiven her for killing my heartthrob, Spider Sabitch.........

[atreides1]

6. With buckshot, probably

If it was loaded with buckshot then she got hit multiple times.

[TX-RAT]

7. 12ga 00 buck has 9 projectiles, 3 inch mags have 12

That's if only one shot was fired.

The whole story smells like BS, to me.

[SledDriver]

8. pump or automatic?

[benEzra]

30. As others have said, multiple projectiles...

FWIW, a 12-gauge shotgun using 000 buckshot in a 3.5" length shell fires the same number of 9mm projectiles (8 or 9) with a single pull of the trigger as a long burst from an NFA Title 2 Uzi submachinegun. At close range, shotguns are by far the most lethal of civilian small arms.

Getting shot with a single-projectile shotgun loading is bad, too. A 12-gauge slug is 18.5mm or .729 caliber. :wow:

[0007]

46. No! Just once!! "multiple gunshot wounds" from one

shot gun shell. More than one buck shot entered her body. Probably 50 or more pellets hit her.

[Tin Man]

2. That's an awfully transparent excuse for murder.

We'll probably be reading a lot more of these type reports in time.

[agio]

22. that's an awfully quick rush to judgment n/t

[LostinVA]

3. I can't help but think it wasn't accidental

Kind od nutted out from Iraq, stress in the marriage (the age difference is interesting), most women are killed by their husbands or boyfriends. And, a soldier knows how to safely clean and clear weapons. The hunters in my family do. I even do -- my Dad taught me when I was a teenager, even though I haven't touched a gun since.

Man.... one life gone and one ruined in the blink of an eye.

[Solo_in_MD]

12. I can think of ways it could be accidental but it still sounds suspicious

to me to.

[warrens]

5. Um, how is that possible?

Once you break the shotgun, there's no way for it to go off.

[Solo_in_MD]

11. Not all shotguns break open

only the low cost or the more expensive. Typical American shotfguns are either pump or semi.

[Zynx]

17. Probably a pump or a semi-auto.

[TomInTib]

9. Maybe he saw her as a threat to his life

It is Florida, you know.

They got laws for that stuff down there.

[gratuitous]

13. Fallback position, is my guess

Hard to imagine someone who "just got back from Iraq" not knowing how to unload a shotgun, or being so careless while unloading it as to have it accidentally discharge and have the double bad luck to snuff his wife at the same time.

If this suspicious story doesn't fly, then he'll fall back to "I felt my life was threatened," which is the Florida legal equivalent of "olly olly oxen-free."

[timtom]

23. I think I read he was from Northern California

n/t

[bleedingheart]

10. She was 46, he was 21....perhaps the age difference created problems

for them both...

While I know a woman dating a man who is significantly younger than she is...it has created some issues for both of them. Now take a fellow who just got home from a tour of duty it may exacerbate those issues.

Sounds like murder to me...

[ShortnFiery]

38. Sad story ...

That's why ladies, I always tell my husband as he's holding the ladder while I clean out the rain gutters about 20' high, "You don't have enough insurance on me to let go!" LOL

Age differences are tough primarily because society, in general, will always judge the OLDER woman harshly. Unfair but true in today's "kill em' all" swaggering patriarchal AmeriKKKa. :(

In fact, anything that is humble and accommodating is not looked upon kindly, only as a weakness to be exploited. How far we, as a nation and society, have fallen. :cry:

[Name removed]

14. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[valerief]

15. This is one of the funniest things I've read all day.

I know the woman's death is sad, but "multiple gunshot wounds" while unloading a rifle? And the dog ate my homework.

[Zynx]

18. Likely buckshot.

[rocktivity]

41. But if they're mulitiple GUNSHOT wounds rather than BUCKSHOT wounds

how hard can they be to tell apart?

:shrug:
rocknation

[lpbk2713]

16. She wouldn't eat the mushrooms.

Old joke.


Sorry.

[Lochloosa]

33. I got it....old "florida" guy here

[truthisfreedom]

19. hmm. while we may never know the truth about the gun, she most certainly

was a cougar. 46 to 21? quite a spread.

[jayctravis]

20. Oh my gosh...I used to live in that complex.

I lived on Cocoplum Circle. I know right where that's at.

[mike_c]

21. so someone who knows weapons and is experienced with them...

...pointed the shotgun at his wife while clearing the loads. Right.

[Solo_in_MD]

25. I witnessed an AD when a shotgun was being emptied a while back

The guy was clearing the magazine by pumping the action. He closed the action thinking it was clear, and then dry fired. The gun went off knocking it clear of his hands. What he did not realize was that the last shell had not ejected, so when he closed the action, he chambered the round. Having witnessed that happen to an experinced shooter, I could believe it happening to others.

We are all going off a miniscule story so its hard to tell what happened other than the wife died...the details will show if this was an addcident or not, no excuse either way.

[benEzra]

29. You don't dry fire a gun by pointing it at your wife, though... (n/t)

[Jacobin]

28. Gross negligence if it wasn't intentional

you never ever point a gun at anyone at any time unless you are prepared to kill them. period

[kestrel91316]

45. That's the only thing my dad ever needed to teach me about guns.

And it stuck. And I don't even own one.

[Ecumenist]

24. I DON'T BUY IT...

It's a bit too convenient. Something is stinks to high heaven here, Sorry Josh.

[slackmaster]

26. Story does not pass the smell test

You have to simultaneously violate at least two of the fundamental rules of firearms safety for an unintentiontal shooting to occur. Everyone who has served in the military has been drilled with those rules to the point where they are instinctive.

[benEzra]

31. I tend to agree...

it could be a tragic accident (gross carelessness? was he drunk?) but I'm sure the police are looking at it as a potential murder case.

[Tanuki]

27. Dick Cheney got by with it,

so this guy probably thought he could, too.

[SlavesandBulldozers]

32. too bad his wife isn't around to apologize for getting in the way.

[For Mary Jane]

34. Mary Jane Lindsey pray for her children

Well all I am Mary's sister. I would like you all to know that Mary was NOT afraid to have a gun in her home. Mary and her first husband were business owners and always kept a couple of weapons in their home. So for Joshua to tell police she was afraid to have a gun in the home is a lie. My husband served four years in the Army and also can not figure out how this accidental shooting may have happened. I will say that the gun was mortified, but the story is so full of holes. And if my sister were afraid of having a gun in the home why would she stand there and help hold the gun while he unloaded it?????? I will say my sister had three loving children and one brother and four sisters and our Mother. I will also tell you that this man treated Mary's children badly when they flew to Fla. to get Mary's body and Joshua only let them have a couple of photos. He stated everything else was his that Mary had signed everything over to him. I will also let you know she had a substantial amount of money in the bank. Also as distraught as he was sometimes unable to understand the 911 call at all he was able to clearly state that he "accidentally shot his wife" After being released from the va mental health ward he went to the keys to relax......stinky stinky stinky Shame on Joshua Lindsey B t w Mary has been dead for 10 days now and still have no body home for a proper service........

[davhill]

35. Our sympathies for your loss

thankyou for sharing some of the background for this horrible tragedy. I hope justice is done.

[psychopomp]

36. May she rest in peace

and to you, may you find healing, sooner rather than later. In time things will all come to light.

[Stella_Artois]

37. Wow

Sorry for the loss. I hope you have passed these details onto the police.

[me b zola]

47. Condolences to you, your family, and of course her children

The part of the story that stuck out in my mind was when it said that she didn't want the gun in the house. It is possible that she was feeling threatened by him and did ask him to get rid of the gun for that reason.


Several years ago I helped a woman, my next-door-neighbor, survive her husband. He was an avid hunter and had always had guns in the house, she was never frightened of the guns. When he began having psych problems, he began threatening to shoot her. One day her kids came over and told me that "dad" was loading his guns and was going to kill their mom when she got home from work. I interviened that day and was able to talk him down, but when I later talked to her I couldn't get her to leave the dangerous situation, or even to seek help. About a week and a half later he came very close to shooting her, ended up holding me at gunpoint (he shot at me twice as I fled when the police arrived) and there was a 20 minute stand-off with the police. I was not hit and everyone survived that night.

I share that story because it is possible that your BIL was having psych problems & was threatening your sister and she knew that it was not safe for him to have access to a gun in his mental state.

I am not afraid of guns, we are gun owners. But I have seen first hand that it is not safe to have them in the hands of someone who is even acutely psychologically impaired, your sister may have seen the warning signs.


Whatever the case, this is a horrible tragedy. I am so sorry for your loss.

[ArthurEF]

39. Better late than never

I knew Mary quite well, in fact, we spent alot of time together while she was living here in Georgia. I actually found out what happened from her "distraught" husband through a messenger message. He hasn't replied back since. After reading several articles and clips from newspapers that covered the tragic event, I have come to the conclusion that Josh is making some very outlandish statements. As he stated in one article, I'm not quoting word for word, he didn't have the money to give her a proper burial. That is a crock, because not only does the Army have provisions for such things like his "situation", but Mary's bank account was far from empty. The whole thing wreaks. I ran into another close friend of hers in Walmart the other day, and she thinks the same thing. I've even went so far as to contact Mary's first husband to try to get a clearer picture of what was going on. Could hardly understand him though, seeing as how he is straight from Italy. SHAME ON YOU JOSH!!!!! Our Lord will handle you in the end.

[Kailassa]

43. Your headline is misleading; it was with great relief that

I read your post and realized your headline was not a reply to the OP's headline.

As you point out, the story stinks worse than sicked-up sardines.

I hope the truth comes out and justice is done as far as possible.
Of course Real justice can never be done, Mary can't be brought back or the grief undone.

:cry:

[rocktivity]

40. (Joshua) Lindsey...is paralyzed from the waist down...

...(His) 21st birthday is Aug. 23...(He)...is a multiple Purple Heart recipient...The couple met nine months ago while Mary Lindsey was volunteering at the veteran's hospital where he was undergoing rehabilitation...
:wow:

That makes Mary's chest wound even more puzzling. If Joshua was in a wheelchair, Mary had to have been standing or kneeling right beside him. And about those multiple gunshot wounds--does that mean she was hit with more than one bullet, or one bullet with multiple projectiles?

:shrug:
rocknation

[MountainLaurel]

42. Reminds me of something that happened back home

A local deputy sheriff "accidentally" shot his wife while he was "cleaning his gun." Except that she was running out the door screaming for help at the time. He was acquitted, of course, being an upstanding member of the community and all. :eyes:

[krispos42]

48. That's how a lot of cops commit suicide

They "accidently" shoot and kill themselves while "cleaning their sidearm". The department usually doesn't investigate so the widow gets the flag and the insurance money.