Arkansas woman who shot son four times given 5 years

Son’s request reduces criminal charge

A Madison County woman who shot her son four times in the back with a .22-caliber rifle was found guilty last week of attempted second-degree murder and first-degree battery.

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Wanda Faye Haffelder, 71, who lived with her son near Combs, was sentenced to five years in prison, said Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Joel Cape.

Cape said a Madison County Circuit Court jury in Huntsville deliberated for about an hour on Nov. 9 before returning with a guilty verdict. The jury deliberated for another 40 minutes before recommending five years in prison.

Haffelder was charged with attempted first-degree murder after the May 31, 2015, shooting of Jimmy Dean Haffelder, who was 49 years old at the time. But Cape amended the charge earlier this month after the victim said he didn't want his mother to go to prison.

Cape said the attempted first-degree murder charge would be appropriate if Wanda Haffelder intended to kill her son. The second-degree charge would be appropriate if she acted recklessly but not with homicidal intentions.

"Wanda testified in her own defense and admitted she shot her son," said Cape. "She indicated that she did not intend to kill her son."

Cape said the case involves "a strange set of facts."

Wanda Haffelder had fired some warning shots over people who were riding all-terrain vehicles near her house, said Cape. The gun jammed, and Jimmy Haffelder went to the house, unjammed the gun and reloaded it for his mother.

The two exchanged words, then Wanda Haffelder picked up the rifle and shot her son four times before the gun jammed again, Cape said. Wanda Haffelder then called 911, saying the bullets came from outside the house.

Madison County deputies found Jimmy Haffelder bleeding on the kitchen floor and the gun buried under some leaves. It contained 13 bullets that hadn't been fired, Cape said.

"I feel fairly certain that the reason he's still with us is the gun jammed a second time," he said.

Cape said he thought Wanda Haffelder should face a jury of her peers because of the seriousness of the case and regardless of the victim's request that his mother not go to prison.

"I didn't want to make an offer of probation in that case," Cape said. "I thought, 'Let the community decide what to do here.'"

Metro on 11/18/2016

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