Cairo Association of Teachers - Newsletter

CAT Tracks for September 4, 2008 POCAHONTAS MAN?

All these years, I thought Pocahontas was a woman...

But, then there WAS the pregnant man...

And Sarah P. was able to read a few ghost-written lines about foreign policy in her speech last night so now she has been annointed a foreign policy expert who can advise John McCain...

A wild and wacky world!!!

Exclusive: Woman Describes Being Shot with Bow and Arrow

By: CJ Cassidy

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - It's a story that shocked many people when they first heard about it on Labor Day.

A Pocahontas man is accused of shooting his ex-wife in the back with his bow and arrow.

The victim in this bizarre case, Betty Housman, decided to share her side of the story.

She is still recovering in a Cape Girardeau hospital, but she's doing a lot better than she was on Monday.

Her ex-husband faces second degree domestic assault charges.

Housman says she doesn't know why he would want to hurt her.

She claims it all began with an argument and ended with an arrow sticking out of her back.

"All of a sudden I felt something go in my back and my son went 'oh my god!'" Housman said.

She explains she had no idea what hit her, when her ex-husband allegedly shot her in the back with his bow and arrow.

"When he pulled it out, blood just went running everywhere, and he went to the sink and started washing off his arrow, by then I was lying on the floor going in and out of consciousness," she said.

Emergency crews airlifted Housman from her Pocahontas home where the shooting happened, Monday afternoon.

According to court papers, investigators arrived upon a bloody scene to find Housman sprawled out on the floor.

When they questioned Merriel Housman Junior, investigators say he had a "smile on his face and would only say he and the female on the floor were involved."

Prosecutor Morley Swingle says Housman used a compound bow, and a broad head arrow tip to shoot his ex-wife.

The owner of a local hunting store says it's the first time he's heard of anything like it.

"It would be very painful. The only think I can think of that stopped the arrow is maybe her shoulder blade. Normally the arrow slips right through," said Rowdy Enderle of Shooters.

Back in her hospital room, Betty Housman relies on her friends and family for support, and says she can't believe she's still alive.

"I thought for sure I was dying. There was too much blood. It was just, I was completely drenched in blood," she said.

I ended my interview by asking Betty Housman how she now feels towards the man she claims put her in the hospital, a man she says she's been in a relationship on and off for 32 years.

"I'm mad at him. I don't think I want to live with him again. I think I'll always love him, never been with another man," she said.

Housman says doctors tell her she has quite a bit of physical therapy to look forward to.

The investigation continues, and Merriel Housman, Jr. sits behind bars on $10,000 bond.