Husband of woman shot to death claims their 2 1/2 year old son did it

Does this sound plausible to you?

A toddler shot and killed his mother, the boy's father told South Florida police, who say they will talk to the 2-1/2-year-old. The father, who called 911, told police he was trying to take the firearm away from the child when it discharged. The boy's mother -- Julia Bennett, 33 -- was shot once in the back and died from the injury, said Miramar Police spokeswoman Tania Rues. "What we do know is that last Wednesday, shortly after 7 o'clock, we received a 911 call from a gentleman stating that his 2-1/2-year-old son accidentally shot his mother -- the boy's mother," Rues told HLN's Vinnie Politan. Rues said investigators will talk to the toddler about the shooting, but that "due to the age, we're not expecting to get much." The boy's father has not been identified by police. They said he has cooperated fully with the investigation, which started with a 911 call he placed on April 20. In that roughly 4-1/2-minute call, a man's voice can be heard asking the dispatcher what to do. He speaks with a thick accent and seems overcome with emotion as he tries to explain what happened. "My son picked it up and I tried to grab it," the man said about the gun. "Oh God, I can't believe this." Rues said the State Attorney's office will decide whether to file charges. The boy's father could face charges of negligence, she said. Bennett and the boy's father were not married and did not live together at the time of her death, according to Rues. http://www.cnn.com/2011/CRIME/04/26/...iref=obnetwork

I'll be the first to call bull shit. I'm sure the cops are not really fooled either. They just have
to prove it.

It's certainly possible. I would think it would be fairly easy to prove if the gun fired in the child's hands or not. If the husband had gunpowder residue on his hands and the child didn't, you would have the husband pinned down pretty easily. The trajectory of the bullet would also be fairly telling. Kids find guns and injure themselves and others with what seems like alarming regularity. I shudder to think of a child playing with a loaded gun, not even knowing what it is, that's how tragedy occurs.

I would want to know more - for one, I would want to know if the mother was standing in the same room because there is no way in hell that someone would turn their back on a child holding a gun.

Originally Posted by Meadow I would want to know more - for one, I would want to know if the mother was standing in the same room because there is no way in hell that someone would turn their back on a child holding a gun.

I caught that too. The gun's lying around the floor and you turn your back on your toddler? Sounds more like she was shot in the back as she turned away from someone.

Totally plausible. Suspicious definitely, but plausible. I imagine the forensic trajectory peeps will be able say whether it was possible for a person of that height to pull off.

The man I was with before hubby had an adorable 2 year old niece that walked into a room with her fathers handgun, safety off. I only get the second hand story but at the time I remembered feeling sick to my stomach at the thought of a toddler walking into a room with daddys gun.

Originally Posted by triple*eee I'll be the first to call bull shit. I'm sure the cops are not really fooled either. They just have to prove it.

Yeah.. I pretty much called that when I first read about this too..

Sure it could happen but somehow? I am doubting that it went down that way.

I agree !!

Originally Posted by ironbutterfly Totally plausible. Suspicious definitely, but plausible. I imagine the forensic trajectory peeps will be able say whether it was possible for a person of that height to pull off. The man I was with before hubby had an adorable 2 year old niece that walked into a room with her fathers handgun, safety off. I only get the second hand story but at the time I remembered feeling sick to my stomach at the thought of a toddler walking into a room with daddys gun.

Okay. call me ignorant, I've only fired a gun once and that was many many many years ago.

But how....can a 2-1/2 yr old fire a gun in the first place? Do they actually have the strength to do it? Is it that easy to pull the trigger? I mean, they add this little strip of metal to the wheel of a lighter & call it childproof (and I'll admit, adultproof at times.) If that's all it takes to make a lighter inoperable, how are these kids able to shoot a gun.

Since this isn't the first time I've heard of a toddler shooting a gun, apparently it's more than possible. But just.... How?

Originally Posted by CrazyCatLady Okay. call me ignorant, I've only fired a gun once and that was many many many years ago. But how....can a 2-1/2 yr old fire a gun in the first place? Do they actually have the strength to do it? Is it that easy to pull the trigger? I mean, they add this little strip of metal to the wheel of a lighter & call it childproof (and I'll admit, adultproof at times.) If that's all it takes to make a lighter inoperable, how are these kids able to shoot a gun. Since this isn't the first time I've heard of a toddler shooting a gun, apparently it's more than possible. But just.... How?

I think it happens because little little kids don't know it's a gun and they don't know the danger associated with handling one. It's just a "thing", something new, something of daddy's that I am not supposed to touch......that is what is so horrifying about imagining a little kid finding a gun and innocently fiddling around with it. I doubt that most accidental shootings involving young children are from kids picking up the gun and taking an actual shooting stance, I would imagine they happen from a child just monkeying around with the gun. Kids always seem to go for the moving parts on anything new and unfortunately with guns, the moving parts are the most dangerous.

Originally Posted by CrazyCatLady Okay. call me ignorant, I've only fired a gun once and that was many many many years ago. But how....can a 2-1/2 yr old fire a gun in the first place? Do they actually have the strength to do it? Is it that easy to pull the trigger? I mean, they add this little strip of metal to the wheel of a lighter & call it childproof (and I'll admit, adultproof at times.) If that's all it takes to make a lighter inoperable, how are these kids able to shoot a gun. Since this isn't the first time I've heard of a toddler shooting a gun, apparently it's more than possible. But just.... How?

Depends on the gun. I had a pistol that everyone had trouble firing! 7 shots and my finger was sore! Even the men at the gunshop didn't like the pull of the trigger.

That being said, circumstances make the difference.. was the father trying to pull it away at the time? The force of the dad pulling while the toddler had some fingers inside the trigger guard could do it. That's why you never grab a firearm by the barrel.. people get shot when something gets caught in the trigger guard while they are pulling it!

Only an investigation will tell.. there is not enough info for anyone to conclude what happened. As others said, where was the mother? Why was her back turned? She could have been in another room and not known what was going on.. and the shot went through the doorway.

Did I miss anything? I didn't see where it stated what type of firearm it was... pistol, revolver or long gun.

I couldn't agree more with the previous poster who stated the trajectory of the bullet would definitely help determine who shot the firearm, whether it was fired from a toddler's height or from a grown man's height. Well said!

And I also agree with the previous poster who stated that some of their handguns are difficult to fire. My husband collects all kinds of handguns (yeah, he's a little crazy for guns, fearing for the Zombie Apocalypse and all...) and I've fired most of them. Some are really, really difficult to fire. I mean, you have to squeeze the trigger really hard! I was surprised at the finger strength it took to shoot the guns! I seriously doubt a 2.5 yr old would have the strength to fire most handguns, let alone a larger firearm.

Anyway, I call bullsh!t, too.

Originally Posted by bomar97 Depends on the gun. I had a pistol that everyone had trouble firing! 7 shots and my finger was sore! Even the men at the gunshop didn't like the pull of the trigger. That being said, circumstances make the difference.. was the father trying to pull it away at the time? The force of the dad pulling while the toddler had some fingers inside the trigger guard could do it. That's why you never grab a firearm by the barrel.. people get shot when something gets caught in the trigger guard while they are pulling it! Only an investigation will tell.. there is not enough info for anyone to conclude what happened. As others said, where was the mother? Why was her back turned? She could have been in another room and not known what was going on.. and the shot went through the doorway. Did I miss anything? I didn't see where it stated what type of firearm it was... pistol, revolver or long gun.

I believe it was a 9mm glock and there was a defense attorney on some show saying that there are several safety mechanisms that would have to be overcome in order to shoot the gun - which adds to the suspicion.

The whole story sounds kinda of fishy. A full loaded 9mm pistol will weight approximatley 2lbs with a trigger pull rate of approximately 2.2 lbs. Most Glocks have a Saftey Action system which means the trigger would need to be pulled full through the center and not on the edges in order to fire the weapon.

I have read other articles which state this man was married to someone else and had this child with the deceased and his current wife knew nothing about the child.

I can not logically believe this man was trying to wrestle the gun away from this child while the mother was in the room with her back turned. I am sure he would be yelling and screaming for the child to give him the gun.

Furthermore, since he has stated that he was trying to get the gun from the child, now he has an excuse for there to be gun powder on his hand. Listen to to the 911 calls, he states "I can't believe this is happening to me..." I don't think that would be something that would even pop into my head while I watched my toddler shoot my significant other.