An 85-year-old Idaho woman is being hailed as a "hero" for killing a man who broke into her home in the early morning hours to protect herself and her disabled son, authorities said.
Christine Jenneiah was asleep in her Bingham County home last month when she was awakened around 2 a.m. by a man later identified as Derek Condon, Bingham County Prosecuting Attorney Ryan Jolley said in a statement posted Wednesday on Facebook.
The only other person at the home at the time was Jenneiah's disabled son, David Jenneiah.
Condon placed the elderly woman in handcuffs, struck her in the head, and demanded she tell him where any valuables were in the house, placing a pistol at her head.
Condon left Jenneiah handcuffed to a chair as he went downstairs to search.
While he was gone, Jenneiah managed to move her chair so that she could retrieve her revolver from under her pillow.
When Condon came back into the room, he threatened to kill Jenneiah. "She ultimately made the decision that it was 'now or never' and drew her concealed 357 magnum and engaged Condon, striking him twice with both shots," the prosecuting attorney wrote.
Jolly determined that Jenneiah was "justified" in taking her actions against Condon.
"Her grit, determination and will to live appeared to be what saved her that night," Jolly said.
