On December 31, 2014 Colleen McKernan was drunk. She was belligerent. And she was in possession of a loaded gun. Her husband of just eight months, Rob McKernan, was conflict-averse. He had his cell phone and car keys in his hands. And he was preparing to walk out the door. Colleen and Rob had just arrived home from a New Year’s Eve party. Their friends had asked them to quiet it down or to leave after Colleen had suddenly exploded in anger and started yelling and screaming at Rob. While Rob helped his wife walk to the car Colleen yelled at their friends that it wasn’t her fault. Of course, not. Nothing was ever Colleen’s fault.
On the way home, according to Colleen, Rob drove very fast and was slamming her against the passenger side of the car. Over three years later she would finally admit that on the way home from the party she was hitting Rob and yelling at him to slow down. When they got home, Rob carried Colleen inside and set her down on their bed then walked out of their bedroom and into the kitchen.
It was 11:00 p.m. As Colleen sat on her bed her cell phone was just a few feet away from her. She could have picked up her phone and dialed 911 if she was truly afraid of her husband as she would later claim. But she didn’t. Instead she reached for her gun. She knew there was one round in the chamber ready to fire and nine more waiting to go. She stood in the doorway and waited for her husband to return.
The most dangerous moment in an abusive relationship is when the abuser realizes that their victim is leaving them. Whether Rob was leaving the house to pick up something to eat, or to head over to the neighbor’s house to ring in the new year with his friends, or whether he was leaving Colleen for good, he was walking out. Evidently in Colleen’s drunken state she had convinced herself that Rob was leaving her for good.
On the way home, according to Colleen, Rob drove very fast and was slamming her against the passenger side of the car. Over three years later she would finally admit that on the way home from the party she was hitting Rob and yelling at him to slow down. When they got home, Rob carried Colleen inside and set her down on their bed then walked out of their bedroom and into the kitchen.
It was 11:00 p.m. As Colleen sat on her bed her cell phone was just a few feet away from her. She could have picked up her phone and dialed 911 if she was truly afraid of her husband as she would later claim. But she didn’t. Instead she reached for her gun. She knew there was one round in the chamber ready to fire and nine more waiting to go. She stood in the doorway and waited for her husband to return.
The most dangerous moment in an abusive relationship is when the abuser realizes that their victim is leaving them. Whether Rob was leaving the house to pick up something to eat, or to head over to the neighbor’s house to ring in the new year with his friends, or whether he was leaving Colleen for good, he was walking out. Evidently in Colleen’s drunken state she had convinced herself that Rob was leaving her for good.
