Woman’s appeal over husband’s shooting death dismissed

CALGARY – Alberta’s top court has dismissed an appeal by a woman convicted of killing her husband while they were putting up Christmas decorations.

Heather Wilson-Duncan testified at her trial that she accidentally shot Barry Duncan in their rural home near Didsbury in 2010.

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The couple had been drinking heavily and were arguing over the decorations when Duncan fetched a shotgun and urged his wife to shoot him.

Court heard a 911 tape of Wilson-Duncan telling a dispatcher that she thought her husband was joking and she didn’t realize the gun was loaded when she pulled the trigger.

She was charged with second-degree murder, but a jury found her guilty of manslaughter and she was sentenced to four years.

Wilson-Duncan’s appealed on grounds that the trial judge made several errors, but the Alberta Court of Appeal unanimously disagreed.