SEDALIA, Mo. — Officials are trying to determine whether to file charges against a man who fatally shot his wife while trying to install a satellite television system in their home.
Patsy D. Long, 34, of Deep Water, was pronounced dead early Saturday evening after being shot in the chest with a .22-caliber handgun.
Pasty Long was standing outside the residence while her husband was installing a satellite television system.
According to sheriff’s department spokesman Maj. Robert Hills, Ronald Long fired a shot from the inside of their home after several unsuccessful efforts to punch a hole through the exterior wall using other means. Investigators said Ronald Long believed his family was inside the house.
He told authorities that he fired a second shot, then called out his wife’s name and the names of their two children. When he got no reply, he ran outside and found his wounded wife.
Pasty Long was hit by the second of two shots fired by Ronald Long, the Henry County Sheriff’s Department said.
Hills said a person involved in such a case normally would be charged with manslaughter, but that was up to the prosecutor.
“Once we complete a diagram of the incident, we will be submitting everything to the prosecuting attorney and let him decide if he wants to press criminal charges,” Hills said.
Hills described the family as being very “distraught.”
Henry County Coroner Scott Largent declined to release details about Patsy Long’s death until the Sheriff’s Department completes its investigation.