Orlando, Florida

From the Orlando Sentinel of May 31, 2005

Widow uses gun, instincts to fend off burgler (sic)

Judith Kuntz, 64, hunkered down in her darkened bedroom late Sunday evening, arming herself with a revolver.

A burglar had just broken into her Indialantic home and, fearing for her life, she said she let her instincts take over.

When the burglar, who had a flashlight, entered the room, Kuntz fired one round from her .38-caliber handgun.

Hit squarely in the chest, the unidentified intruder ran outside, where he collapsed and died.

On Monday, Kuntz was still shaken, but she briefly recalled her ordeal.

"I'm doing fine under the circumstances," she said. "I don't take any joy in somebody being dead. My self-preservation instinct took over."

She would not discuss the incident further.

"I don't feel real safe," said Kuntz, who has lived alone since her husband died nearly five years ago. "This has been a horrifying experience."

The Brevard County Sheriff's Office said she was justified in defending herself and will not face charges. The revolver was hers, inherited through her family, investigators said.

From May 31, 2005 Florida Today:

Jason Lewis Preston was having marital and financial trouble in Eaton Rapids, Mich., when he arrived in Indialantic last week to spend time with a cousin, according to police.

Now, Brevard County sheriff's investigators want to know why the 33-year-old unemployed maintenance worker decided Sunday to burglarize the home of a 64-year-old widow.

The nighttime break-in ended with a startled Judith Kuntz pulling out her .38 caliber handgun and shooting Preston to death.

"He came down to stay with some family and said he was just going to make a little money, maybe do some odd jobs," said Brevard County Sheriff's Agent Lou Heyn.

Heyn doesn't yet have a clear motive for the burglary. Investigators said the shooting death appears justifiable.

Preston has a criminal record that includes assault and breaking and entering (see story at right).

More detail from May 31, 2005 WFTV.com:

INDIALANTIC, Fla. -- A 64-year-old woman fatally shot an intruder who broke into her home.

Judith Kuntz was awakened by the sound of breaking glass late Sunday. She fired her revolver from about a distance of about 10 feet as the intruder entered her bedroom.

...

"I'm doing fine under the circumstances," Kuntz said Monday. "I don't take any joy in somebody being dead. My self-preservation instinct took over."

The case was being treated as a lawful shooting, said Agent Lou Heyn of the Brevard County Sheriff's Office.