An incident reported Wednesday by EastIdahoNews.com showed how a potentially lethal situation became an example of heroism, thanks to an 85-year-old woman armed with a handgun. According to EastIdahoNews.com, Christine Jenneiahn was sleeping at home during the wee hours of March 13, when a man officials identified Derek Ephriam Condon, 39, broke into her house around 2 a.m.
The report, released by Bingham County prosecuting attorney Ryan Jolley and shared by the Bingham County Sheriff’s office on Facebook, noted that Jenneiahn’s disabled adult son, David, was sleeping downstairs when the invasion happened.
Condon went to Jenneiahn’s upstairs bedroom, and awakened her while pointing a flashlight and a pistol at her head.
Based on the blood police found on her bed and her pillow, they believe Condon hit her in the head, though Jenneiahn doesn’t quite remember when or how it happened.
Clearly, though, Jenneiahn was in grave danger, and Condon was ready and willing to kill to get what he wanted.
And what was it that he wanted?
According to Jolley’s report, Condon took Jenneiahn to the living room and handcuffed her to a chair, demanding to know where she kept her valuables and pointing a pistol to her head when she said she didn’t have much.
Then, as the New York Post explained, she told Condon she had two safes downstairs, without disclosing that her son was sleeping in a downstairs bedroom.
When Condon discovered that, however, he was enraged.
Returning to the living room, Condon threatened to kill her for failing to tell him about her son, in addition to issuing multiple other threats.
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‘Heroic’ mom, 85, fatally shoots masked intruder while handcuffed to chair protecting disabled son during gunfight https://trib.al/6z5wsjI
However, what Condon did not count on was the remarkable resilience of this otherwise frail old woman.
Despite suffering multiple injuries at Condon’s hands, while Condon was rummaging through the house, Jenneiahn dragged herself and the chair back to her bedroom, where she retrieved the .357 Magnum revolver she kept under her pillow.
From there, she dragged herself and the chair back to the living room, where she hid the gun in a nearby couch.
When Condon returned, Jolley’s report explained, Jenneiahn decided it was “now or never.” She drew her gun and “engaged Condon, striking him with both her shots.”
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Condon then emptied his 9mm pistol at her, striking her abdomen, leg, arm and chest, before stumbling to the kitchen, where he died from his gunshot wounds to the chest.