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DEEPWATER, Mo. -- Officials were trying Tuesday to decide whether to file charges against a Missouri man who fatally shot his wife while trying to install a satellite TV system in the bedroom of their home.
Patsy Long, 34, of Deepwater, died after being shot in the chest with a .22-caliber handgun on Saturday. Her husband, Ronald Long, fired the shot from the inside of their home after several unsuccessful efforts to punch a hole through the exterior wall using other means.
Henry County sheriff's deputies said the woman was hit by the second of two shots fired by her husband.
Long was given CPR by neighbors and family until medics arrived, police said. She was transported by air ambulance, but was pronounced dead at the hospital just after 6 p.m.
"He was under the impression that everybody was inside the residence, that he knew where everybody was at,” said sheriff's department spokesman Maj. Robert Hills.
Hills said a person involved in such a case normally would be charged with manslaughter, but that would be up to the prosecutor.
"Once we complete a diagram of the incident, we will be submitting everything to the prosecuting attorney and let him decide if he wants to press criminal charges," Hills said.
Henry County Coroner Scott Largent declined to release details about Patsy Long's death until the sheriff's department completes its investigation.
On Tuesday morning, Henry County Prosecuting Attorney Richard M. Shields said he has yet to receive the case from the sheriff's department.
Neighbor Mark Lassince said he believed it was a tragic accident.
"Bad things happen to good people,” Lassince said.
Patsy and Ronald Long were raising their two children in their rural home overlooking Truman Lake.
"I was in the shower, and the son came in and told me his mom had been shot, so we went up there to see if we could help,” Lassince said.
Patsy Long worked as a carhop at a Sonic restaurant in Warsaw, Mo.
“She was a good person, you know, took care of her family,” Lassince said.
