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Log inWoman admits killing her estranged husband
Woman admits killing her estranged husband
by Outspoken on Tue Nov 18, 2008 5:34 am
Woman admits killing her estranged husband
Police say she told them that she shot him when she went to his home to pick up some belongings.
By KELLEY BOUCHARD and DAVID HENCH
Staff Writers Portland Press Herald
NAPLES — A woman admitted that she fatally shot her estranged husband at his home off Songo School Road when she stopped by Monday afternoon to retrieve some of her belongings, Maine State Police said.
Patricia Valeriani, 46, was questioned and released Monday evening without being charged in the death of Anthony Valeriani Jr., 52, from whom she recently filed for divorce.
"She has admitted to shooting her husband. She has been cooperative," said Lt. Brian McDonough. "We want to evaluate whether or not the shooting could have been justified in some manner, and that will take some time."
A homicide may be considered justified and therefore not a crime if it is committed in self-defense or in defense of others, McDonough said.
McDonough said Anthony Valeriani died from a gunshot wound to the chest. McDonough wouldn't say what kind of gun was used or what might have precipitated the 1 p.m. shooting in the gray, double-wide mobile home at 55 Valeriani Drive.
After investigators questioned Patricia Valeriani on Monday, they drove her to Maine Medical Center in Portland, where she was treated for an "impact wound," McDonough said.
Cumberland County Sheriff's Department records show that deputies were called to 55 Valeriani Drive three times in July; twice for domestic disturbances and once for a suicidal person. Patricia Valeriani moved out last summer and filed for divorce last month, family members said.
Valeriani Drive was closed to traffic Monday afternoon and evening, and the well-kept mobile home was wrapped in yellow tape marking the scene of a police investigation. The nearby Songo Locks School, which serves kindergarten through grade 3, was locked to outsiders for the afternoon to ensure student safety.
In the coming weeks, Maine State Police and the state Medical Examiner's Office are expected to file reports with the state Attorney General's Office, including results of an autopsy and a ballistics study. The attorney general will decide whether to charge Patricia Valeriani with a crime or present the case to a grand jury for possible indictment, McDonough said.
It's the 29th homicide in Maine this year, the highest number of killings in the state in nine years, said Steve McCausland, spokesman for the Maine Department of Public Safety.
http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/story.php?id=222602&ac=PHnws
John Patriquin/Staff Photographer
Police say she told them that she shot him when she went to his home to pick up some belongings.
By KELLEY BOUCHARD and DAVID HENCH
Staff Writers Portland Press Herald
NAPLES — A woman admitted that she fatally shot her estranged husband at his home off Songo School Road when she stopped by Monday afternoon to retrieve some of her belongings, Maine State Police said.
Patricia Valeriani, 46, was questioned and released Monday evening without being charged in the death of Anthony Valeriani Jr., 52, from whom she recently filed for divorce.
"She has admitted to shooting her husband. She has been cooperative," said Lt. Brian McDonough. "We want to evaluate whether or not the shooting could have been justified in some manner, and that will take some time."
A homicide may be considered justified and therefore not a crime if it is committed in self-defense or in defense of others, McDonough said.
McDonough said Anthony Valeriani died from a gunshot wound to the chest. McDonough wouldn't say what kind of gun was used or what might have precipitated the 1 p.m. shooting in the gray, double-wide mobile home at 55 Valeriani Drive.
After investigators questioned Patricia Valeriani on Monday, they drove her to Maine Medical Center in Portland, where she was treated for an "impact wound," McDonough said.
Cumberland County Sheriff's Department records show that deputies were called to 55 Valeriani Drive three times in July; twice for domestic disturbances and once for a suicidal person. Patricia Valeriani moved out last summer and filed for divorce last month, family members said.
Valeriani Drive was closed to traffic Monday afternoon and evening, and the well-kept mobile home was wrapped in yellow tape marking the scene of a police investigation. The nearby Songo Locks School, which serves kindergarten through grade 3, was locked to outsiders for the afternoon to ensure student safety.
In the coming weeks, Maine State Police and the state Medical Examiner's Office are expected to file reports with the state Attorney General's Office, including results of an autopsy and a ballistics study. The attorney general will decide whether to charge Patricia Valeriani with a crime or present the case to a grand jury for possible indictment, McDonough said.
It's the 29th homicide in Maine this year, the highest number of killings in the state in nine years, said Steve McCausland, spokesman for the Maine Department of Public Safety.
http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/story.php?id=222602&ac=PHnws
John Patriquin/Staff Photographer
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Plato (427-347 BC)
Plato (427-347 BC)
