Columbus, Ohio

From the Columbus Dispatch of March 25, 2006

Woman cleared in fatal shooting

Grand jury decides she had killed man in self-defense

Before she fired the fatal shot, Shanon Barnhouse repeatedly warned the stranger on her Franklinton porch that she had a gun and, if he didn’t back off, she’d use it.

John Chandler, 19, kept coming, a county prosecutor said. And when he was a few feet from Barnhouse, she fired.

A grand jury decided yesterday not to indict Barnhouse, 29, on any charges. Franklin County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Casey Lee said it’s clear that Barnhouse acted in self-defense when she shot Chandler on March 17. She said the original murder charge will be dismissed.

"The case is over," she said.

Saying that Barnhouse acted only to protect herself and her son, relatives had hoped all week that authorities would see it the same way they did.

"She’d never hurt a hair on somebody’s head unless she was provoked," her mother, Sandy Trimble, said Tuesday.

"She loves her family totally. There’s nothing in the world she wouldn’t do for them."

Hints that authorities also were questioning the murder case against her surfaced Thursday, when she was released from jail at the request of Lee and Stephen Glasure, a Columbus homicide detective.

Barnhouse and her family declined further comment yesterday, citing legal advice and saying they remain uncertain of the status of the case.

"Right now we’re just cherishing the time we have, with me and the child," said Michael Six, Barnhouse’s boyfriend of 10 years. The couple have a 4-year-old son.

Barnhouse’s attorney could not be reached for comment.

Six said Barnhouse was alone with their son when a fight at a bar and a crash involving a stolen car occurred near their home at 932 Sullivant Ave.

"Essentially, there was a drunken brawl going on outside of her house," Lee said. "She’d opened the screen door to see what was going on."

It was not clear what role Chandler played in the events just before the shooting, but Six said he was told that Chandler and another man approached their duplex as police rushed to the area.

Chandler saw Barnhouse standing in her doorway and accused her of summoning police, Lee said.

He came onto the porch despite the warnings by Barnhouse, who Six said has worked as a licensed security guard and is trained to shoot a gun.

"He was in that range of where the screen door was open," Lee said. "She was fearful of what this person was going to do."

Chandler was acting irrationally, Lee said.

"There were people standing across the street at the store that heard her yelling at him," Six said. " ‘Look, I have a gun. I will shoot you. Get off my porch.’ And he lunged at her, and when he lunged at her, she shot him. She didn’t have a choice." Attempts to reach Chandler’s family this week were unsuccessful. "She is so devastated that the boy died," Trimble said. "I’m sorry," Six said. "But it was just showing love for her son. She was protecting her son. You’re gonna do what you gotta do to protect your children."