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Shootout at the Hills'

November 27, 2010 7:45 PM

A husband terrorizes his wife and kids. There's money, abuse and murder. Did he deserve to die? "48 Hours Mystery" correspondent Richard Schlesinger reports.

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by lennylampert March 12, 2013 2:41 AM EDT
People feel that she could have walked out of the room, but her history with her husband indicates otherwise. Of course, her husband could also have walked away instead of abusing her each time, and yet he abused her again and again. After years of abuse, I believe she truly feared for her life.
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by Debbarn99 August 24, 2012 10:06 PM EDT
Years abuse, she's a cripple and these dumb bot jurors think she can 'walk' out of the room from a 6' 5" grisly bear. Thankfully, for one Juror with a BRAIN. The adult children are rotten, spoiled, Greedy BRATS.
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by WakeUpPeople001 August 12, 2012 12:17 PM EDT
Charlene Hill is guilty.

1. Two juries (with the exception of one hard-headed rebel juror) found her "Guilty".

2. Remember the multiple police reports that said "Refused to file charges". Charlene had many opportunities over the years to handle the abuse "constructively". She even moved to California, and Danny DID NOT PURSUE HER; instead, she returned to Danny.

Charlene considers herself above the law. She wanted to kill Danny only after the motorcycle accident because he was "damaged goods".
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by trkelly10 March 11, 2012 10:24 PM EDT
I think the plea deal has been done for this type of case before so it was not something new the judge did. The jury really missed this about not being in danger and could of walked away. These women that are abused for years and years as she was with the emergency room visits which was just the tip of the iceburg feel in danger from the moment they wake in the morning. What was a 6'5" man doing beating this small women. People (the jury) can be so cold. Her children will understand some day. There have been women that just get up one day and kill their husband because that can't take another day of the abuse. I believe they call it some sort of battered wife defense but knowing backwards Texas they probably don't recognize it.
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by michipoo January 21, 2012 5:40 PM EST
I hope and pray that she gets a fair trial and that more than one juror has a normal thought process. How incompetent those last jurors were to not see the picture that was so clear. She is a mother and she will always love her children, but what a pathatic bunch to do what they did. When you hear stories like this, you truly have to believe that money is the root of all things evil and her children were spoiled, rotten, pathetic people. Her daughter just exudes ignorance. Her pompus son needs a lesson about what forgivness really means and I hope he never sees another cent. Maybe no matter how volitile their parents were, they always worked hard and provided. Maybe they should do the same and get a job.
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by NNN32 January 12, 2012 8:45 PM EST
Thank Goodness for that only Juror that had the intelligence to see what exactly went on and had the stregth and courage to stand up to the other jurors. The kids are after the money. a 6'5" man would have outrun a cripled woman a foot shorter than him within a second. it was self defense. the husband was an abusive beast. I am glad the wife survived him.
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by orinkay January 4, 2012 1:49 PM EST
In such a case the jurors had to be victims of aggression and 2 of them, at least, should have been women suffering abuse.
No one can ever understand the depth of fear and terror that an abused woman experiences nor can anyone understand how is it possible for such a woman to keep on living with the guy.
The defense failed to use a Psychiatrist and/or Psychologist to explain this most complicated situation.
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by katsaysnow October 15, 2011 1:14 PM EDT
If Charlene got a plea deal for probation and a fine then good for her. I can't believe they were gonna find her guilty of murder. I wonder if the judge was allowing a lesser charge because it is possible they could have found her guilty of involuntary manslaughter. But she really doesn't deserve to be in jail. As a victim of two abusive relationships I understand what goes on in her mind and I support her completely. If I had been in that position I would have done the same thing. It's not as easy as people try to make it sound to leave. The abuser has a mental hold over the victim, makes her depend on him. The kids, Jamie and Jeremy, are stinking rats and I hope she never speaks to them again, even though that would be hard. But they tried to get her locked away for life, when they know how he was. What a couple of spoiled brats!
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by mlc2005 August 9, 2011 11:04 PM EDT
Is there any woman on the planet that Kelly Seglier DOESN'T think is guilty???? You know, she is a great prosecutor in terms of her aggression and ability to perform and convince juries, but I'm not sure I respect her as a person truly looking for justice. As 48 hours has shown, Seigler has been overturned numerous times for blatant prosecutorial misconduct. I'm not saying defense attorneys are any better, but every time I see her in the media, it's always the same thing: "He/she did not commit an act of self-defense. He/she is a cold-blooded murderer."
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by muzikfan2000 July 27, 2011 6:36 PM EDT
I feel sorry for this woman. And that son of hers is a real piece of work ...look at the saggy puffy eyes...a big time drinker with a host of issues he needs to deal with. One minute he's planning to kill his own father. The next he's "dad's best friend." The good son killed himself overwrought with guilt and depression, and the two rotten kids are after the money. A tragic, sad case. And it's scary how that first jury just wanted to get it over with and convict. How many broken bones and hospital visits does a woman need to have before she's considered a battered spouse?
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