Should a life of abuse justify homicide?

It's the first question most people ask: Why would Charlene Hill stay in an abusive relationship for almost 30 years?

"There was a good Danny and there was a bad Danny," Charlene told Richard Schlesinger. "You know, you've got to remember, Danny and I worked together side by side...there were good times...but...it was a rollercoaster ride for a long time."

Even her closest friends, like Jennifer Hinch and Susan Watts, searched for answers.

"Those vows said for better and worse and she meant it and she kept 'em," said Hinch.

II think they were each other's drug, that they couldn't live without the other and didn't want to live without the other," said Watts.

Photos: Follow the evidence

And now the most painful details of this baffling and broken relationship are about to be exposed again in court by Charlene's own lawyers.

"...that her life was in jeopardy that she was in danger of serious bodily injury," defense attorney George Parnham told the court.

"Not only is she physically punished, she is mentally punished as well," Parnham told Schlesinger. "She knows full well that he has absolute control of her."

Witnesses testified about Danny's violent history.

"He started yelling and screaming and throwing things around. So Char and I hid under a picnic table..." Cindy Messina told the court.

"I was pointing at the door going... 'What are these holes in the door?' And he said 'I shot and missed,'" Hinch testified.

Another family friend, Jeff Douglas, is clearly uncomfortable as he recounts how Danny bragged to him about raping Charlene.

Jeff Douglas: He pushed her down on the bed.

George Parnham: What did he tell you?

Jeff Douglas: Well, something to the effect that, you know, after a while she enjoyed it.

Even Jeremy Hill, while testifying against his mother once again, has to admit Danny was capable of appalling violence.

George Parnham: Your father was somehow able to pick your mother up and put her into the passenger seat?

Jeremy Hill: Yes, sir.

George Parnham: What was he doing?

Jeremy Hill: He was choking her.

But prosecutors think the forensics prove, that on the night in question, Charlene was the dangerous one in that room.

"The bullets run the wrong way for this to be the what she said, the bullets run the wrong way for him to be coming at her," said prosecutor Chad Bridges.

"The bullet goes through the muscle of his upper right arm and exits his upper right arm, then re-enters his armpit," Medical Examiner Dr. Sara Doyle gestured as she addressed the court. "It goes through the right lung, the right diaphragm, the liver..."

It's not so much where the bullets ended up that's important to prosecutors -- it's where they entered Danny's body; the side of his right arm.

"So he would have to be standing facing away from her to get those.

Ninety degrees away?" Schlesinger asked Medical Examiner Dr. Stephen Pustilnik.

"Ninety degrees away. Yes," he replied.

Dr. Pustilnik has studied the autopsy photos. He says Danny could not possibly have been coming at Charlene in the way she described, with his arms raised, ready to grab her.

"If he was coming at her at the time, where would he have been shot?" Schlesinger asked.

"It would be on his front surface. So, front of his chest, front of his abdomen," said Pustilnik.

"Do you remember where he was when you fired each of those three shots?" Schlesinger asked Charlene.

"No, he was just coming," she replied.

Based on the bullet wounds, Investigator Phipps says Danny had to be facing an exit, the door to the back patio. But Charlene's attorneys say Danny was threatening to go out to his truck to get a gun. And suddenly, he changed his mind.

"He goes like he's gonna go to the door. But rather than go to the door, he makes his move towards her," McWilliams demonstrated in the replica bedroom. "I think the state just doesn't believe that he actually turned to come at her...He's got wounds on his right side. Those wounds are totally consistent with exactly what we've described here."

"And you think that he got shot on his way while he was turning to come at her?" Schlesinger asked.

"Right," McWilliams replied.

Now, everyone is ready for Charlene to take the stand for the second time in this courtroom. And everyone will be surprised by how this case ends.

15 Photos

Follow the evidence: Shootout in the bedroom

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[Ulgnud]

With all due respect to this tragedy I wasn't in the courtroom. However as a prospective juror I would have real problem believing someone is innocent if they supposedly endured all this abuse for 25 years.

[Jim_Reality]

She's guilty. In any disfunctional relationship it takes two to tango. If she felt abused she should have left him. I don't see too many disgruntled employees cleared of shooting up the joint- even if they were unjustly fired, abused, and taken advantage of. ultimately you have a choice to walk.

[gryphon501]

basically the kids are brainwashed to think that the mother was responsible for the father is abusing her. They are probably saying the same things he said when he was alive. It's probably for the best that this s.o.b. is dead. Unfortunately his kids will almost certainly resurrect this abusive relationship in their own lives.

[SUZAMBA]

All the shoulda, coulda, woulda's won't change what is. We can beat this to death (pardon the pun) but it will remain the same. Two lives destroyed.

[SUZAMBA]

Since I have never lived with this kind of abuse, I haven't a clue as to what I would do. I could only hope I had the sheer power to get out of the situation. Along with the physical abuse comes the verbal abuse, physically and mentally you can only tolerate so much until you, as a individual person human being are beaten down. It would be easy for one who has never been in this position to berate a person for staying and not leaving. Violence, murder is never the answer but it happens all too often, for all reasons. What gives one human being the right to inflict such harm on another. Sadly, it happens every day!

[aintfakin]

y gruven13777100 July 1, 2012 12:18 PM EDT
by Doodledogsmom January 26, 2012 10:51 AM EST

If you have not lived with this kind of abuse, please don't judge.

-------------

WHY WOULD YOU LIVE WITH IT?
------------------------------
a large part of the abuse is threats of death if someone decides to run for it and there have been plenty of cases where those that have run for it were chased down and killed by these animals.
You have to remember that these are many times also co dependent relationships where one party is vulnerable to intimidation beyond the beatings....and most of the time the dominate and abusive member of these relationships simply don't deserve to live

[aintfakin]

gruven
you gruved right on by my point
what planet are you living on?
the point was killing this SOB was entirely justified
the legal system has proven time and time again it is worthless protecting battered wives. Many die without running. they pretty much have to be dead before the cops will do anything.
write back if you need more explanation

[formerlyluvnut]

No. It's just another excuse.

[hypnotoad72]

Cynthia Lennon and Tina Turner did not resort to murder...

But if they had, in self-defense, I probably wouldn't complain too much.

[djseavy]

As a man, it's disheartening to see some of the posts saying that any man who disagrees with the shooting is just like her husband. That is untrue. If somebody is beating you, I'm all for doing anything and everything necessary to protect yourself, including killing the SOB. Once the threat has stopped, as in this case the man was already fatally wounded, why shoot him? Just let him die on his own and spare yourself the ordeal of judgement. Everyone has to remember we're getting what 60 minutes gives us, so I wouldn't be too quick to judge the situation. Editing and quotes have a way of twisting the story. And I do hope that those who are so hostile seek some help.

[skeezix06]

This, as stories of abuse often are, is a story that is difficult to read or watch from a distance.

Consider the possibility that after 25 years, she probably knew the look on his face that signaled certain immediate physical abuse. I suspect someone who's married to an abuser probably knows well before he actually starts hitting what's going to happen. She took 25 years of being hit before she tried to defend herself.

A lot of long term abuse can be explained by the fact that women who are married to abusers try to rationalize it away. Children who grow up in abusive homes have childhood memories consisting of a cycle of violence; an abusive parent and a parent who may not try to stand her ground or who, if she does try to stand their ground, may get beaten as a result.

I didn't actually watch this particular story because over the years I've seen stories very much like this. I'm guessing she probably got 20 years or more in prison. That's what usually seems to happen. Men, on the other hand, seem to get approximately 7 years for murdering their spouse or girlfriend.

Since he was laying there moaning when the police arrived and was capable to saying his wife shot him, I don't think the "Once the threat has stopped, as in this case the man was already fatally wounded, why shoot him?" really applies. If you can see the rage on his face that indicates he's going to start beating I would suspect most people would probably panic enough to pull the trigger more than once. That and the fact that she probably didn't know she had fired a fatal shot explains why she pulled the trigger more than once.

[aintfakin]

baal4you

I get the feeling you support George Zimmerman

[Calltwoarms]

Men in general, tend to think they own their wives. Charlene made the mistake of not shooting him a long time ago. But she should have been careful about HOW she did it. She should have know the police would charge her with murder so she should have made it look like a burglary. She could have had a friend come by one night and shoot him in his sleep. Then take something of some value and she could have reported a break-in.

This husband of hers, Danny, sounds like a real loser. Beating on a woman, his own wife because he can' handle his emotions. A guy like that is useless. Their kids don't know the truth about him because they didn't see him beating the **** of her.

The judge should have released immediately upon hearing of the case. Nolle proseqe would have been appropriate. For all of you men that think she got off too light, you're probably just as bad as her husband Danny.

[ppyrite]

I agree with your opinion of the men who think she got off too light. When they talk about "red flags" I would say these guys are waving their red flags.. Hopefully the woman they try to meet take notice. As for the kids.. sometimes when they see the acceptance of disrespect toward the mother.. they join in on it. There was a video of a man kicking his wife while she lied in a ball on the ground., their son was videotaping the whole thing.

[LaurainOhio]

You have serious issues and certainly do NOT speak for all women and definitely not for me. "Men in general" is demeaning, and neither men nor women should be generalized or stereotyped. Not all men look at their wives as property and not all women are helpless victims. ESPECIALLY Charlene from this story. She had the financial means to leave this man a long time ago and CHOSE not to. Yes, some women have very few options in terms of leaving. This woman doesn't appear to be one of them with her multi million dollar business that was recently sold, huge farm and home, just to name a few assets we know of from the show. Money equals many more options. She planned this murder, I believe, and carried it out to rid herself of a husband who may or may not have been abusing her at that time. But evidence shows, at least that night, he most definitely was not coming at her as she claimed so I do not at all buy her self defense claim. He wasn't there to defend himself or tell his side of the story.

However, ballistics and forensics were--and they said it was murder. Too bad the judge and attorneys made a really bad decision and let yet another "abused" murderer go free.

[SUZAMBA]

NOT all men think they own their women. Just as you would not want all women grouped together, lets not start bashing men. Your saying she was a cold blooded killer, that would change the whole situation. None of us really know the "Whole" situation between them, and that is not saying he had the right to abuse her. It is a shame, the we don't have better laws when it comes to abuse, whether it be a woman or a man and yes, men are abused.

[Aine57]

If you believe that "men in general" are any one way, don't criticize those who say that "women in general" are any one way. Both men and women vary widely and it is just a couple steps more from "men in general" to "men in general deserve what they get."

I am no stranger to battered women's lives or mindsets. I have known plenty of them and few willing to leave their abusive partner. It is a terrible situation in which they find themselves and sometimes killing their husband or boyfriend is justifiable, but this particular case makes me wonder: A lot of women don't leave because they can't afford to leave, and lack of cash means they have nowhere to go. This woman claimed she had nowhere to go, but she had access to $1,000,000 on the date of her husband's death. Half of that would be really good disappearing money; even a fraction would make a huge difference. Psychologically, she may live in fear, but claiming she had nowhere to go is false. Coupled with some of the evidence, her story falls flat.