An 85-year-old woman shot and killed a man who broke into her home and threatened to kill her, and the incident has been ruled "justifiable homicide" according to Idaho law. Prosecutor Ryan Jolley said in a release that the fact that the woman survived the home invasion is "truly incredible."
At the time of the home invasion, which took place in Bingham County, Ohio, on March 13, the 85-year-old woman, Christine Jenneiahn, was asleep. Her son, David Jenneiahn, who is disabled, was also at home when the man, identified as Derek Condon, broke into their home. According to the news release shared by the Bingham County Sheriff's Office, the incident occurred at around 2 a.m.
Condon wore a military jacket and black ski mask at the time of the incident, and reportedly pointed a gun and flashlight at Christine, waking her up. The release noted that Condon likely struck Christine in the head, too, because blood was found on her pillow and on the floor in her room.
Condon reportedly took her to the living room of her home at gunpoint then handcuffed her to a chair. He asked her about her belongings and explored the home for some time, eventually discovering that Christine's son was also present and getting "angry with Christine for not telling him."
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Condon reportedly threatened to kill Christine multiple times. When Condon was looking through the house, she took it as an opportunity to get the gun that she kept under her pillow. She then "hid the revolver between the arm rest and cushion of a couch next to where she was seated and waited to see what Condon did next," according to the release.
The news release noted that a lot of the information about what happened came from Christine, and she doesn't remember some of the details of what happened before she decided to shoot Condon.
She reportedly decided it was "now or never" as Condon kept looking through her things and threatened to kill her.
Christine shot Condon and he also shot her, "striking her multiple times in her abdomen, leg, arm and chest." Condon died as a result of the gunshot wounds, but Christine survived, which Jolley called "one of the most heroic acts of self-preservation I have heard of."
Based on Idaho law, the incident was ruled as "justifiable homicide." Jolley praised Christine, noting that "her grit, determination, and will to live appear to be what saved her that night."
Jolley concluded with, "I find that Christine acted in justifiable self-defense and that Cordon's death was justifiable homicide pursuant to Idaho law."
In a Facebook post, the Bingham County Sheriff's Office noted that "our intention is not to defame the name of the suspect involved or make a tragedy for his family worse. We are simply releasing the facts of the case, and explaining that there was a victim involved that displayed heroism, fortitude, and a will to live that we’d be remiss not to share."
