New Darwin Award Winner

[SPF2245]

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, helping her husband with the installation of a satellite television system. The couple's children were also outside.

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.

Ronald Long 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.

[Joe Wicked]

WOW, just wow.

[Ron61]

That certainly deserves to be in the Darwin awards. That sounds as stupid as some of the things I have done.

Ron

[427 S/O]

Well, let me tell you about some of the stupid things I've done.............................................. ....Never mind.

[trularin]

I guess that 22 beat out a drill for putting a hole in the house.

Go ahead Perry.

[DAVID GAGNARD]

My wife's uncle did some plumbing work along with his water well drilling service..... When my wife and I bought our first house, it needed some plumbing repairs and updates....uncle came to the rescue, he used his 12 gauge shotgun to make the holes in the floor for the water lines to come into the house.... wood frame house,about 2 feet off the ground, worked perfect as long as you don't hit a floor beam.......and as long as no ones crawling under the house..........

David

[Wayne Maybury]

If that wasn't so sad, it would be funny. Unfortunately, her childen were right there and saw it all happen. Forrest Gump would say "stupid is as stupid does".

Wayne

[Buzz]

Darwin awards usually refer to someone who, through an act of monumental stupidity, removes himself from the gene pool. Here, a stupid act by a man resulted in the death of his innocent wife - no fault of her own. My heart goes out to her family.

[Ron61]

I wonder what his "Other Means Was." Did he never hear of a drill. Buzz, you are right about the Darwin Awards being for people who remove themselves from the gene pool. When I first saw this I thought maybe the bullet had hit something in the wall and came back and hit this idiot. The kids were very fortunate they weren't hit.

Ron

[Excaliber]

I hope they don't charge him with a crime. The family has suffered enough all ready.

[Silverback51]

Originally Posted by Excaliber

I hope they don't charge him with a crime. The family has suffered enough all ready.

I concur. That would only compound the suffering.

[427 S/O]

A 'no wrench turning' friend called me asking how to change oil in his car..I explained...He called back and said oil was coming out of the dip stick tube?. I drove over to take a look, he drained the transmission fluid!!!!!!!!!

[Ron61]

Perry,

Just the reverse of your story. Several years ago a man I know bought a brand new Pontiac Grand Prix. He called me wanting to know how to change the oil and I told him to get under it and put a pan down and take the drain plug out and let it run until it quit, then put the plug back in and fill it with the amount the book said it held. Two weeks later I got a call from thratning to sue me because his transmission had burned out. The idiot drained the transmission and poured the motor oil into the right place, way overfilling the oil pan. Of course they voided his warranty.

Ron

[Commodore]

Hope he didn't get a part time job at a 'Quick Lube' store to offset his voided warranty expenses. It might be a good time for manufactures to color coordinate engine and transmission drain plugs to match the fill locations for the adventurous shade tree mechanics attempting such difficult maintenance procedures?

[Ron61]

Commodore,

That is not a bad idea at all but some person would still manage to screw it up. I really don't know what that guy did with his Pontiac as I just told him to not call me again. I heard from another source a couple of years later that he had bought another new car and had messed it up by burning out that transmission. They said he wanted to know how to disconnect the speedometer so it wouldn't run up the miles until his warranty was over and they told him to disconnect the cable, meaning at the back of the speedometer. Instead he took it out of the transmission and of course after driving it for a while all the fluid was gone and that one burned up too. In a case like him, I think the vehicle would need to have a straight through drive with one speed.

Ron

[Commodore]

Ron,
I can't imagine what that buffoon dose for a living but I bet he opted for a sub prime mortgage to beat paying interest to all those money grubbing banks that have been stealing from him for so long. Good chance his mortgage is a train wreck like his cars because of his brilliant money saving escapades. A mind can be a terrible thing for some.

[Ron61]

Commodore,

He used to work for the telephone company locally. I haven't heard anything about him for many years. But I don't know many of the local people who did work for them when he was here. One of them told me he got transferred up here from the Bay Area because they wanted to get rid of him. I met him a time or so when I had to go down there for some reason but never really knew much about him except what they would tell me. I did go to work on a computer problem in that office once and found a trouble ticket with his name on it showing he had fixed the problem and I asked them why I was called down there if he had fixed it. One of the guys that worked there looked at the ticket and blew up and said he was going to have a talk with him. That was the last I ever heard of him.

Ron