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Only 20 years? He's getting off easy.
DENTON, Texas - A North Texas jury watched a chilling video Tuesday of a man accidentally shooting his 10-year-old daughter fatally in the head during a drunken lesson on handling handguns.
The Denton County jury was hearing testimony in the penalty phase of the trial of Duke Watrous of Oak Point, who pleaded guilty to manslaughter Monday, the day he was to go on trial in the Christmas Eve 2009 shooting death of his daughter, Ashley . Watrous could get up to 20 years in prison under the terms of his plea deal.
The video came from cameras Watrous had installed in his home to show child-welfare caseworkers after being investigated during custody disputes with two ex-wives, according to the Denton Record Chronicle.
On the video, Watrous lines his daughter and her 9-year-old brother up for the lesson as the carol "Joy to the World" plays in the background. The video shows Watrous tracking Ashley with a shotgun, rubbing her face and shoulder with the barrel and drunkenly asking, "Does that scare you? Are you scared?"
Then, he picks up a .44-caliber Magnum handgun. As the words "Merry Christmas" come from a television in the background, the guns goes off, the bullet goes through Ashley's head and lodges in a cupboard.
Watrous picks up his daughter, lays her out on the table, gathers up his guns and locks them in a gun safe. As she whimpers and chokes, her brother pleads with her, "Stay with me, Ashley."
Watrous returns and bends over the girl.
"Ashley can you hear me?" he asks. After a moment, he says, "Ashley's dead."
In opening statements, prosecutor Rick Daniel told of how the little brother telephoned for help, telling Oak Point police and other law officers that his father was drunk and playing with a "cowboy gun." A Texas Ranger who helped investigate the death said he smelled alcohol on Watrous.
Defense attorney J.T. Borah told jurors that he would call witnesses to would testify to how the shattered marriages in Watrous' life contributed to the tragedy.
"And the worst moment of his life is caught on video," he said.
Oak Point is about 40 miles north of Dallas-Fort Worth.
Read more on myFOXdfw.com: http://www.myfoxdfw.com/dpp/news/041...#ixzz1JVRTveCj
DENTON, Texas - A North Texas jury watched a chilling video Tuesday of a man accidentally shooting his 10-year-old daughter fatally in the head during a drunken lesson on handling handguns.
The Denton County jury was hearing testimony in the penalty phase of the trial of Duke Watrous of Oak Point, who pleaded guilty to manslaughter Monday, the day he was to go on trial in the Christmas Eve 2009 shooting death of his daughter, Ashley . Watrous could get up to 20 years in prison under the terms of his plea deal.
The video came from cameras Watrous had installed in his home to show child-welfare caseworkers after being investigated during custody disputes with two ex-wives, according to the Denton Record Chronicle.
On the video, Watrous lines his daughter and her 9-year-old brother up for the lesson as the carol "Joy to the World" plays in the background. The video shows Watrous tracking Ashley with a shotgun, rubbing her face and shoulder with the barrel and drunkenly asking, "Does that scare you? Are you scared?"
Then, he picks up a .44-caliber Magnum handgun. As the words "Merry Christmas" come from a television in the background, the guns goes off, the bullet goes through Ashley's head and lodges in a cupboard.
Watrous picks up his daughter, lays her out on the table, gathers up his guns and locks them in a gun safe. As she whimpers and chokes, her brother pleads with her, "Stay with me, Ashley."
Watrous returns and bends over the girl.
"Ashley can you hear me?" he asks. After a moment, he says, "Ashley's dead."
In opening statements, prosecutor Rick Daniel told of how the little brother telephoned for help, telling Oak Point police and other law officers that his father was drunk and playing with a "cowboy gun." A Texas Ranger who helped investigate the death said he smelled alcohol on Watrous.
Defense attorney J.T. Borah told jurors that he would call witnesses to would testify to how the shattered marriages in Watrous' life contributed to the tragedy.
"And the worst moment of his life is caught on video," he said.
Oak Point is about 40 miles north of Dallas-Fort Worth.
Read more on myFOXdfw.com: http://www.myfoxdfw.com/dpp/news/041...#ixzz1JVRTveCj
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