An 85-year-old woman shot dead Derek Cordon (left) after he broke into her Idaho home and threatened to kill her (Pictures: Bingham County Sheriff’s Office)
An elderly mother was hailed as ‘heroic’ after managing to shoot dead a home intruder while handcuffed to a chair and bleeding in order to protect her disabled son.
Christine Jenneiahn, 85, was sleeping in her home in Bingham County, Idaho, when an intruder identified as Derek Condon broke in around 2am, according to the Bingham County Prosecuting Attorney Ryan Jolley.
Condon, donning a military jacket and black ski mask, pointed a flashlight at Jenneiahn and took her at gunpoint to the living room, where he handcuffed her to a wooden chair, stated Jolley on Tuesday.
The suspect is believed to have struck Jenneiahn on her head, as blood was found on her pillow and bedroom.
Condon asked Jenneiahn where her valuables were and put the pistol to her head when she said she did not have much. She then said she had two safes downstairs.
‘At some point he discovered that Christine’s son was also in the home and became angry at Christine for not telling him,’ Jolley stated.
‘He also made numerous threats to Christine telling her that he would kill her.’
When Cordon went downstairs in search of the safes, Jenneiahn dragged the chair she was handcuffed to into her bedroom and retrieved her 357 magnum revolver from under her pillow.
Derek Condon was shot dead by an elderly woman acting in self-defense (Pictures: Bingham County Sheriff’s Office)
‘She then went back into the living room and hid the revolver between the arm rest and cushion of the couch next to where she was seated and waited to see what Cordon did next,’ according to Jolley.
Jenneiahn’s memory of what happened next was ‘somewhat unclear’, but she said that Cordon threatened her again as he rummaged through her home.
‘She ultimately made the decision that it was “now or never” and drew her concealed 357 magnum and engaged Condon striking him with both her shots,’ Jolley stated.
Cordon fired back at her, striking her in the abdomen, chest, arm and leg. He then fell into the kitchen and died from the gunshot wounds.
The home invasion and shooting happened on March 13 (Picture: Bingham County Sheriff’s Office)
Jenneiahn fell to the ground and lay there for 10 hours until her son went downstairs in the morning and handed her a phone to call 911.
She was transported to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center in Idaho Falls and is recovering after being released, reported EastIdahoNews.com.
Jenneiahn will not face criminal charges around the March 13 incident under the state’s self-defense law.
‘This case presents an easy analysis of self-defense and justifiable homicide,’ wrote Jolley.
‘It also presents one of the most heroic acts of self-preservation I have ever heard of.’
There was no evidence that Condon made a ‘clear attempt’ to surrender or retreat from the home. As such, ‘Christine was justified in taking any and all means necessary to defend herself and her son that night’, Jolley stated.
The Bingham County Sheriff’s Office, which shared the prosecuting attorney’s statement on Facebook on Wednesday, stated that ‘there was a victim involved that displayed heroism, fortitude, and a will to live that we’d be remiss not to share,’ stated the sheriff’s office’.
‘We feel fortunate to know Christine and wish to thank her for her example at this time,’ continued the sheriff’s office. ‘We wish her well in her recovery and look forward to finding a way to honor her at a later date.’
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