- Mary Beth Harshbarger
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Contents
Early life
Mary Beth Harshbarger was born in Meshoppen, Pennsylvania.[1] She went on to marry her husband Mark Harshbarger with whom she had two children.[2]
Shooting incident
On September 14, 2006, Mary Beth, her husband Mark and their two young children, and Mark’s brother Barry Harshbarger, were on a hunting trip outside of Buchans Junction in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. The facts of the case state that Mary Beth was sitting in the back of a Chevy pickup truck with her children, armed with a rifle, on a logging road late in the day.[3] She waited with her children while Mark and a local hunting guide walked through the nearby spruce woods in the hopes of flushing out a black bear.[4] Barry was at a hunting blind elsewhere in the woods.[5]
Mark began to walk back toward the truck with the guide, the guide stopping to urinate in the woods.[6] At this point Mark walked towards the van, ahead of the guide, in dark clothing without an orange hunting hat or vest to improve his visibility.[7] As he emerged from the woods, Mary Beth told police that she saw a dark shape that she believed was a black bear, and fired using her armed rifle.[8] What she shot was not a black bear however, but was instead her husband Mark.[9] When he was shot, Mark Harshbarger was approximately 200 feet from the truck in which his wife Mary Beth and two children were seated.[10] In recounting the incident to RCMP officers at the lodge where they were staying immediately after the shooting, Mary Beth said she had looked through the scope twice to make sure what she was seeing really was a bear.[11] She insisted that she had not seen the blue of Mark Harshbarger’s pants, but instead seen the black of a bear.[12]
According to Dr. Nash Denic, the St. John’s, Newfoundland pathologist who autopsied him, Mark Harshberger died of one gunshot wound to the abdomen.[13] Dr. Denic revealed during Mary Beth Harshberger’s trial that Mark would most likely have been leaning over when he was struck by a bullet.[14]
Trial
Following a lengthy investigation, Canadian officials issued charges in April 2008.[15] After several years of appeals, Mary Beth Harshbarger was ordered by U.S. District Judge Thomas I. Vanaskie to surrender to the U.S. Marshals Service by 2pm on May 14, 2010.[16] She was then extradited to Canada to stand trial for criminal negligence in the case of her husband’s shooting in 2006.[17] Mary Beth Harshbarger arrived in Newfoundland on May 17 to face the charges.[18] If convicted, Mary Beth faced a minimum of four years in prison.[19]
Prior to the trial, Mark Harshbarger’s father Leonard Harshbarger was quoted in the media as saying “It isn’t an accident to mistake someone for something else and kill him. That’s a negligent act, and I hope and believe justice will be served”.[20]
Mary Beth Harshbarger was tried in the Newfoundland and Labrador Supreme Court in Grand Falls-Windsor [21] on a count of criminal negligence.[22] The case was heard without a jury in the courtroom of Justice Richard LeBlanc.[23]
During the trial both Mary Beth and Harshbarger’s family responded emotionally when a video depicting Mark Harshbarger’s body was shown in the courtroom. The video showed Mark Harshbarger’s body on the ground, with a bullet hole visible on the bib of his blue denim overalls.[24]
During a re-enactment that was used as evidence by the defense during the trial, hunting guide Lambert Greene and Reg White owner of the Moosehead Lodge where the Harshbargers stayed during their trip, said what they saw through Harshbarger’s rifle scope looked more animal than human.[25] Police who conducted two re-enactments said that all they could make out through Mary Beth’s rifle scope was a “black mass” and that it was “plausible” that she thought she was aiming at a bear.[26] The prosecution argued that Mary Beth knew her husband was in those woods, and that it was possible he would be emerging from the site at any time, wearing dark clothing.[27]
Mary Beth was found not guilty of criminal negligence causing death in the shooting death of her husband while on their hunting trip outside of Buchans Junction in September 2006.[28] Justice Richard LeBlanc concluded that the Crown had failed to prove Harshbarger displayed a complete disregard for the safety of others, and that the death was “a result of an accident and nothing more”.[29]
Controversy
While Mary Beth maintained that she believed she shot at a bear and that her mistake could be attributed to her poor visibility and Mark’s dark clothing, the Harshbarger family has insisted that the shooting was deliberate.[30] They maintain that Mary Beth is an experienced hunter and markswoman who knew exactly what she was looking at that day.[31]
There are reports that Mary Beth had increased her husband Mark’s life insurance not long before the hunting trip.[32] Mary Beth collected on life insurance policies worth $550,000 (US).[33] Mark Harshbarger’s family noted that despite collecting on the policies, Mary Beth failed to post her $200,000 bail.[34]
After Mark Harshbarger’s death from injuries sustained during the shooting incident, his brother Barry Harshbarger moved into the marital home that his brother had shared with Mary Beth.[35] However, when Mary Beth Harshbarger left the home to stand trial in Canada in May 2011, Barry Harshbarger engaged in a relationship with another woman who is now his wife.[36]
Following the trial on November 1, 2011, Mark Harshbarger’s brother Barry Harshbarger obtained a temporary protection from abuse order (PFA) against Mary Beth, citing ‘I am in fear for my life’ due to her unstable behaviour and past violence.[37] In the order Barry Harshbarger wrote that Mary Beth had threatened him by pointing a loaded rifle at him at some point prior to October 18, 2011.[38] Court date has been set for December 2, 2011 after a rescheduling by the judge. The protection order includes Barry's father and siblings and their respective families. Barry also seeks return of 130 guns which he states are his and in Mary Beth Harshbarger's possession.[39]
In Mary Beth’s defense, Dr. Denic, the pathologist that conducted an autopsy on Mark Harshbarger after his fatal accident concluded that Mark was most likely learning or hunched over when he was struck by the bullet.[40] The issue of his posture was significant to the trial as Mary Beth had steadily maintained that she thought her husband was a black bear.[41] Several witnesses during the trial suggested that it was too dark for any hunter to have shot with confidence.[42]
Media coverage
The shooting incident that ultimately killed Mark Harshbarger and the subsequent trial of his wife Mary Beth Harshbarger have garnered significant media interest. The story was covered by NBC’s ‘Dateline’ under the title ‘As Darkness Fell' which continues to air on ID network channel, and on ‘The Fifth Estate’ in a special entitled ‘Til Death Do Us Part’.[43] Outdoor Canada magazine conducted an in-depth investigative report into the story in their Winter 2010 issue entitled ‘Another Fine Day Afield’.[44] Outdoor Canada continues coverage of Mary Beth with the latest article published Oct 31, 2011
References
- ^ The Telegram. Oct 1, 2010. "Mary Beth Harshbarger found not guilty."
- ^ The Telegram. Oct 1, 2010. "Mary Beth Harshbarger found not guilty."
- ^ The Telegram. Oct 1, 2010. "Mary Beth Harshbarger found not guilty."
- ^ The Telegram. Oct 1, 2010. "Mary Beth Harshbarger found not guilty."
- ^ The Telegram. Oct 1, 2010. "Mary Beth Harshbarger found not guilty."
- ^ The Telegram. Oct 1, 2010. "Mary Beth Harshbarger found not guilty."
- ^ The Telegram. Oct 1, 2010. "Mary Beth Harshbarger found not guilty."
- ^ The Telegram. Oct 1, 2010. "Mary Beth Harshbarger found not guilty."
- ^ The Telegram. Oct 1, 2010. "Mary Beth Harshbarger found not guilty."
- ^ The Times Tribune. Sept 4, 2010. "Harshbarger's father speaks out about widow's ucoming shooting trial."
- ^ CBC News. Sept 20, 2010. "Hunter leaning when shot by wife."
- ^ CBC News. Sept 20, 2010. "Hunter leaning when shot by wife."
- ^ CBC News. Sept 20, 2010. "Hunter leaning when shot by wife."
- ^ CBC News. Sept 20, 2010. "Hunter leaning when shot by wife."
- ^ The Times Tribune. Sept 4, 2010. "Harshbarger's father speaks out about widow's ucoming shooting trial."
- ^ Outdoor Canada. May 7, 2010. "Extradition looks for hunter who shot husband"
- ^ Outdoor Canada. May 7, 2010. "Extradition looks for hunter who shot husband"
- ^ The Times Tribune. Sept 4, 2010. "Harshbarger's father speaks out about widow's ucoming shooting trial."
- ^ CBC News. Sept 13, 2010. 'Guide describes fatal shot in US hunters trial'
- ^ The Times Tribune. Sept 4, 2010. "Harshbarger's father speaks out about widow's ucoming shooting trial."
- ^ The Telegram. Oct 1, 2010. "Mary Beth Harshbarger found not guilty."
- ^ CBC News. Sept 20, 2010. "Hunter leaning when shot by wife."
- ^ CBC News. Sept 20, 2010. "Hunter leaning when shot by wife."
- ^ CBC News. Sept 20, 2010. "Hunter leaning when shot by wife."
- ^ Toronto Star. Oct 1, 2010. "Woman who shot husband on hutning trip found not guilty"
- ^ Toronto Star. Oct 1, 2010. "Woman who shot husband on hutning trip found not guilty"
- ^ Toronto Star. Oct 1, 2010. "Woman who shot husband on hutning trip found not guilty"
- ^ The Telegram. Oct 1, 2010. "Mary Beth Harshbarger found not guilty."
- ^ The Telegram. Oct 1, 2010. "Mary Beth Harshbarger found not guilty."
- ^ The Telegram. Oct 1, 2010. "Mary Beth Harshbarger found not guilty."
- ^ The Telegram. Oct 1, 2010. "Mary Beth Harshbarger found not guilty."
- ^ Nexstar Broadcasting. "Charges filed in Canada against Mary Beth Harshbarger"
- ^ CBC News. Sept 13., 2010. "Guide describes fatal shot in US hunters trial"
- ^ CBC News. Sept 13., 2010. "Guide describes fatal shot in US hunters trial"
- ^ The Daily Review. Nov 3, 2011. "Troy man gets PFA order against woman who killed his brother."
- ^ The Daily Review. Nov 3, 2011. "Troy man gets PFA order against woman who killed his brother."
- ^ The Daily Review. Nov 3, 2011. "Troy man gets PFA order against woman who killed his brother."
- ^ The Daily Review. Nov 3, 2011. "Troy man gets PFA order against woman who killed his brother."
- ^ The Daily Review. Nov 3, 2011. "Troy man gets PFA order against woman who killed his brother."
- ^ CBC News. Sept 20, 2010. "Hunter leaning when shot by wife."
- ^ CBC News. Sept 20, 2010. "Hunter leaning when shot by wife."
- ^ CBC News. Sept 20, 2010. "Hunter leaning when shot by wife."
- ^ CBC. 'Till Death Do Us Part: Synopsis'
- ^ Outdoor Canada. May 7, 2010. "Extradition looks for hunter who shot husband".
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