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03-08-2005, 05:32 PM
Husband Asks Court to Release His Wife
(03-07) 10:19 PST Oklahoma City (AP) --
The husband of a woman accused of shooting him in the head, beating him with a baseball bat and leaving him for dead says his wife is innocent.
Now he wants her back — and out of prison.
William McDonald filed a federal lawsuit in Oklahoma City claiming his wife was coerced into pleading guilty, police botched the investigation and he was never contacted about the case.
Caren McDonald, 32, is serving a three-year prison term after admitting she beat her husband with a bat June 21, 2002, at the couple's Choctaw home. A charge of shooting with intent to kill was dismissed.
William McDonald, 42, is asking for the immediate "release of my loving wife that is being held falsely."
The Choctaw Police Department and Detective Marsha Van Houtte, a lead investigator on the case, asked that the court dismiss McDonald's complaint, denying the investigation was improper or violated anybody's rights.
William McDonald — who answered questions from The Oklahoman by e-mail because, he said, he still has trouble talking — is living in Florida. He wrote that his wife never beat him and he accidentally shot himself.
"They accused my wife of beating me and shooting me on purpose and why I do not understand to this day?" he wrote. "My wife has never hit me in any way and we were not having any domestic problems."
More importantly, McDonald wrote, authorities never contacted him in the two years between the shooting and his wife's sentencing.
Investigators repeatedly tried to contact William McDonald, but could not communicate with him, Choctaw Police Chief Billy Carter said.
After William McDonald was shot, doctors said he would either be in a coma or die.
He beat the odds. But while recovering, he said, he was cut off from his wife and her June 4 sentencing.
William McDonald's lawsuit includes an affidavit by his wife, who recanted her confession, saying she couldn't afford to take the case to trial, "so I took the lesser of two evils and signed the plea bargain."
Caren McDonald pleaded guilty to assault and battery with a bat on her husband. A check of court records shows she had no prior record before the plea. She is serving her sentence at the Dr. Eddie Warrior Correctional Center in Taft, according to records kept by the Oklahoma Corrections Department.
Law enforcement officials don't believe Caren McDonald's recantation and question her husband's ability to recall what happened at the home.
Caren McDonald was not pressured when she came to prosecutors and admitted she beat her husband after an argument, Assistant District Attorney Ken Stoner said.
"I only considered what she told me whenever she came in on her own," Stoner said. He said he gave her the benefit of the doubt when she said the shooting was an accident.
Even William McDonald's story has changed since he first told police he was shot by two guys who ran off outside, Stoner said. During his recovery, the victim said he couldn't remember what had happened, Stoner said.
Choctaw police stand behind their investigation.
"The mere fact that we filed a charge tells that I stood behind the investigation," Carter said. "There was no evidence to believe that an accident occurred there. Forensics led us to believe that we had enough to file a charge, which we did."
Evidence presented in court papers and testimony, pointed at Caren McDonald.
Blood was in the bedroom and throughout much of the house, indicating a physical struggle occurred.
Blood-soaked sheets were found in a closet. Fresh sheets were on the bed. Blood was smeared on a wooden baseball bat. Investigators found blood on cleaning supplies.
William McDonald claims he was wounded when he accidentally was shot because he startled awake, pulling sheets against the trigger of the gun that was in the couple's bed.
McDonald claims he then grabbed the baseball bat and went to check for intruders, spreading blood throughout the house.
(03-07) 10:19 PST Oklahoma City (AP) --
The husband of a woman accused of shooting him in the head, beating him with a baseball bat and leaving him for dead says his wife is innocent.
Now he wants her back — and out of prison.
William McDonald filed a federal lawsuit in Oklahoma City claiming his wife was coerced into pleading guilty, police botched the investigation and he was never contacted about the case.
Caren McDonald, 32, is serving a three-year prison term after admitting she beat her husband with a bat June 21, 2002, at the couple's Choctaw home. A charge of shooting with intent to kill was dismissed.
William McDonald, 42, is asking for the immediate "release of my loving wife that is being held falsely."
The Choctaw Police Department and Detective Marsha Van Houtte, a lead investigator on the case, asked that the court dismiss McDonald's complaint, denying the investigation was improper or violated anybody's rights.
William McDonald — who answered questions from The Oklahoman by e-mail because, he said, he still has trouble talking — is living in Florida. He wrote that his wife never beat him and he accidentally shot himself.
"They accused my wife of beating me and shooting me on purpose and why I do not understand to this day?" he wrote. "My wife has never hit me in any way and we were not having any domestic problems."
More importantly, McDonald wrote, authorities never contacted him in the two years between the shooting and his wife's sentencing.
Investigators repeatedly tried to contact William McDonald, but could not communicate with him, Choctaw Police Chief Billy Carter said.
After William McDonald was shot, doctors said he would either be in a coma or die.
He beat the odds. But while recovering, he said, he was cut off from his wife and her June 4 sentencing.
William McDonald's lawsuit includes an affidavit by his wife, who recanted her confession, saying she couldn't afford to take the case to trial, "so I took the lesser of two evils and signed the plea bargain."
Caren McDonald pleaded guilty to assault and battery with a bat on her husband. A check of court records shows she had no prior record before the plea. She is serving her sentence at the Dr. Eddie Warrior Correctional Center in Taft, according to records kept by the Oklahoma Corrections Department.
Law enforcement officials don't believe Caren McDonald's recantation and question her husband's ability to recall what happened at the home.
Caren McDonald was not pressured when she came to prosecutors and admitted she beat her husband after an argument, Assistant District Attorney Ken Stoner said.
"I only considered what she told me whenever she came in on her own," Stoner said. He said he gave her the benefit of the doubt when she said the shooting was an accident.
Even William McDonald's story has changed since he first told police he was shot by two guys who ran off outside, Stoner said. During his recovery, the victim said he couldn't remember what had happened, Stoner said.
Choctaw police stand behind their investigation.
"The mere fact that we filed a charge tells that I stood behind the investigation," Carter said. "There was no evidence to believe that an accident occurred there. Forensics led us to believe that we had enough to file a charge, which we did."
Evidence presented in court papers and testimony, pointed at Caren McDonald.
Blood was in the bedroom and throughout much of the house, indicating a physical struggle occurred.
Blood-soaked sheets were found in a closet. Fresh sheets were on the bed. Blood was smeared on a wooden baseball bat. Investigators found blood on cleaning supplies.
William McDonald claims he was wounded when he accidentally was shot because he startled awake, pulling sheets against the trigger of the gun that was in the couple's bed.
McDonald claims he then grabbed the baseball bat and went to check for intruders, spreading blood throughout the house.