New York Wife Murders Police Officer Husband

Murder does not decide race nor gender. The very fact that violence was used regardless of gender is still a criminal act. Sometimes when I see cases where a woman, especially a poilce officer's wife in domestic related criminal acts occur, I cringe, often wondering if my own mother solved her pain in the same way as Mrs. Sheehan would I accept the fact that she committed murder? Honestly, I have no answer. But, I do have an answer for those women right now who are in violent relationships married to abusive men. Muster up every ounce of strength you have, from your head down to your toes, and make the decision to safely leave. Solving a bad situation by killing another human being is not the answer to your problems. But I suspect in this case it was Barbara's only option. And in this particular situation, Barbara did what she had to do. Unless you have lived in someone shoes it is difficult to know how the wife of an abuser should or could respond.

2/20/2008--Howard Beach woman was ordered held without bail Tuesday after allegedly killing her retired cop husband, a slaying her lawyer suggested was motivated by fears for her life.The victim, Raymond Sheehan, and the suspect, Barbara Sheehan -- who was charged with second-degree murder -- had what neighbors and police sources said was a hostile, tense marriage and said that the victim abused his wife.On Monday afternoon, the wife, 46, called her sister in a panic. When the sister arrived, she found Raymond Sheehan, 49, shot dead in the bathroom, police said."I shot him," the wife told police officers, who subsequently responded to the home, a prosecutor said in court Tuesday. "I shot him. I think he's dead."Sheehan retired from the New York Police Department as a sergeant in 2002. He spent most of his career in the Crime Scene Unit and was part of the team that sifted for human remains at the Fresh Kills landfill in Staten Island after the Sept. 11 terror attack.He coached neighborhood sports teams, his friends said. "As far as I was concerned, he was a good guy," said neighbor Frank Provenzano, 44.But other neighbors, plus his wife's family, told police the couple were often at odds and that he physically abused her.Shortly before the shooting, the couple fought, neighbors and her family told police, and they said he punched her in the face."The decedent was, in fact, the aggressor," lawyer Douglas Dollinger said in court during Barbara Sheehan's arraignment.The suspect appeared to be on the verge of tears in court. The couple's college-age children, Jennifer and Raymond, sat in the second row, weeping.Barbara Sheehan was ordered held without bail, and her lawyer wouldn't comment outside court about raising a battered spouse defense.Michael Dowd, a lawyer who has defended a number of battered women accused of attacking their spouses, says that to win an acquittal, a defense lawyer has to get the jury to "see the world through the eyes of the battered woman, to see the dangers that were facing her."Often, Dowd said, a battered woman will be criticized for not calling police -- the NYPD had not previously been called to the Sheehan home -- or not just walking out."But that's often answered by who she is," Dowd said, noting that some women, no matter how badly abused, will stay for the sake of their children or because they don't believe in divorce."There's also the fact that there really is no protection out there for a battered woman if the person is dominant and in control, particularly if that person has guns." Though retired, Raymond Sheehan still kept guns in his home.When a battered woman fights back, Dowd said, "A lot of people say the woman went berserk."This often is the sanest day of the woman's life because she finally decided to stop the harm that she was facing."

What Police Officer Comment Site Responses to the Shooting have to say:

#1 -WHAT the heck.....????? in yesterdays report the Sgt was shot in the bedroom and now the wife says she shot him in the bathroom? Neighbors yesterday stated they were a nice curch going couple and they never heard anything out of the ordinary from the residence and no signs the couple ever fought...Today neighbors are saying they fought and he always was physically abusing her...??? Now she has a big time attorney that deal with battered women..I know where this is going...

#2-This is going to be one of those situations where the only people who truly know what happened in that house are her, the sarge and God

#3-First rule of defense attys - if your client confesses, put the victim on trial. He'll be a POS by the time the trial is over, no matter what he was really like.

#4-Hate to specualate on what really happened here. My fiance was in an abusive relationship and had some scary and terrible things happen to her. He is a fireman. No one outside knew what was going on withing, she never reported anything, but with everythign she told me there were times she should have shot him. I am not saying this is what happened here, and I would like to give the Sarge the benifit of the doubt, but I would like everyone who reads and posts to keep an open mind.


#5- What's going on here? A retired police SGT is shot by his wife...she caller her sister and the sister calls 911....if the Dgt was beating on her like she claimed and she shot him in self defense, why not call 911 immediately? And then maybe your sister? She shows fresh facial injuries...who put them there? Maybe the sister? It certainly sounds like the investigation is going in that direction if they arrested her and charged her with second degree murder...I would love to read this investigative report when concluded...

#6-Did she have to the Sarge in self defense? I mean come on. Never a police report, nothing on file? This has big time defense written all over it. She'll walk you watch.