12 October 2009

Freaky Florida Fatality

Florida is full of crazies, drunks, and elderly of all races and walks of life.  I was not surprised to read an article on CNN.com today, the headline stating: "Groom: Fiancee's Death Was Accident".  When I clicked on it, it brought me to WFTV, where the headline states "Man Shoots, Kills Fiancee Day Before Wedding".  Naturally, I'm intrigued.

Apparently, a 62- year old guy named John Tabbutt killed his future wife, Nancy Dinsmore.  But it was accidental.  He awoke at 3am, thought he heard an intruder, so he got his gun and shot the "intruder" in the chest.  The "intruder", however, was his fiancee.

First, before I go any further, I just want to express my sympathies for this man, a 62-year old man on the eve of his wedding, not only loses his fiancee, but he's the cause of it.  I can only imagine how this man is grieving and the guilt he will have to overcome.  I can't fathom what he and their families are going through. 




With that said, the whole thing just smells fishy to me, and not because it took place in Florida.

1. I understand it's every person's right to bear arms, but why do you have a gun?  And furthermore, what is it doing so close to your bed?  Tabbutt claims he woke up around 3am, saw a shadow in the hall, and fired at it.  So, what that means to me is he opened his eyes, saw a shadow, and grabbed a gun from his nightstand or pillow and immediately aimed towards the shadow and pulled the trigger.

2.  If you're getting married tomorrow, WTF is your fiancee doing out at 3am?  Maybe it was her bachelorette party, but if that were the case, you would have known she would be out and coming home late.  Was she working a late shift?  Again, if that were the case, you would have known as well.  Or was she simply up getting a drink of water in the middle of the night, and returning to bed?  If that were the case, you would've tucked each other into bed, and had you awoken at 3am and noticed her side of the bed was empty, you would have known it was her.

3. Although the authorities are awaiting forensic and toxicology reports, I'd venture to say this gentleman probably had alcohol or other drugs in his body.  It just seems to make sense to me when the rest of the equation is all messed up.  I wouldn't be surprised if the authorities find motive, find more incriminating evidence, and the toxicology reports turn out to be fruitful. 

In any neighborhood, it's a given anyone who wakes up at 3 am and sees a shadow in the hallway can suspect a burglar, so I applaud your quick reaction and thinking; however, something is just not adding up here.  I don't necessarily believe this shooting was "accidental".  Yes, maybe a mistake, but you pulled out your gun, aimed, and shot this "intruder" dead center in the chest; then, you figured out you killed your future wife?  Yikes my friend. 

Sounds like you're gonna have a lot of explaining to do in spite of your grieving.  For your sake, I hope you're telling the truth.  Now, with all your family and friends coming in and out of your house, it might be best to lock up your weapons to avoid another tragedy.

3 comments:

likeanowl said...

Wow. Let me know the outcome of this!

What I find really interesting about this is that you see it as "everyone's right to bear arms". Not where I'm from it's not!

It reminds me of a time when my English friends and I were talking to our American friend at University about the time we were terrified to see a man with a machine gun in an airport. Her take on the matter was entirely different, saying that it made her feel safe to see authorites with firearms.

I'm not really making any kind of a comment there other than that the cultural divide is so interesting, reading your take on the situation. That's it really!

KC Kelly said...

Yea, that is interesting. Gotta love the Constitution of the United States...I personally don't think every day, regular people need weapons...leave it to the authorities. But if we weren't allowed weapons, then it'd be difficult to defend ourselves against people who use weapons illegally. It's a Catch 22 no matter what way you look at it.

I can't imagine seeing a man with a machine gun in an airport. A service weapon like a 9mm maybe, but a machine gun? Holy crap! Where were you? Iraq?

Anonymous said...

The gun did not kill Nancy the human did.

 
Made by Lena