HAMILTON — Ever since she shot her husband to death on July 31, Josie Whitaker has said she acted in self-defense.

        She said her husband, William, beat her, sexually assaulted her and threatened to kill her before she fired two shots from a .25-caliber semiautomatic handgun at him in their Hanover Township home.

        Her children, friends and neighbors have said Mr. Whitaker physically abused his wife during their entire 52-year marriage.

Josie

William

        A Butler County grand jury believed them. The grand jury declined Wednesday to indict her on a murder charge.

        Mrs. Whitaker, who has been free on her own recognizance, said Wednesday she is greatly relieved to be clear of all criminal charges connected with the shooting.

        “I feel they did the right thing,” Mrs. Whitaker said. “Everything I said was true. I haven't let the shooting bother me a whole lot because I felt I did what I had to do. Otherwise, it would have been me who was beaten or tortured to death.”

        Mrs. Whitaker's daughter, Charlotte Thomas of Hamilton, said the grand jury's verdict will make the family's Thanksgiving much happier.

        “It's a reason to celebrate,” she said.

        Mrs. Whitaker and her family said the evening of July 31 was the culmination of years of abuse.

        Mrs. Whitaker gave police this account of the shooting:

        Her 70-year-old husband emerged drunk from the basement and pulled a clump of hair from her head and beat her. He sexually assaulted her in their bedroom with an object.

        She threw the object into the hall. When Mr. Whitaker went to retrieve it, she pulled a handgun he had given her from a drawer.

        When he returned, she shot him in the left side. He followed her into the kitchen. After warning him to stop, she shot him in the chest.

        “He would have killed her,” Mrs. Thomas said. “She shot him to save her life.”

        All three of Mrs. Whitaker's children, other relatives, several neighbors, some former co-workers and a psychologist testified in her behalf before the grand jury, said her attorney, Patrick Garretson.

        “We felt that she had a strong case of self-defense,” he said.

        Mrs. Whitaker plans to cook Thanksgiving dinner today for her family.

        The family won't be grieving for Mr. Whitaker, Mrs. Thomas said.

        She said when she and her siblings were younger, he would hit them when they tried to stop him from beating their mother.

        “I'll tell you how often I have cried for my father since he died,” Mrs. Thomas said. “Not once.”
       

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