A man who accidentally shot his wife in the neck while threatening to harm himself was sentenced to probation.
Stephen B. Keck, 46, Greenwood, pleaded guilty to a felony charge of criminal recklessness with a deadly weapon.
He was sentenced to a year on probation as part of a plea agreement.
Keck was arrested last year after he shot his wife in the neck inside their Center Grove area home. Both Keck and his wife, Dawn Henderson, told police he did not mean to shoot her.
Keck told investigators that he was frustrated and depressed after having an argument with Henderson about their finances. He went to the bedroom, grabbed a .38 caliber revolver and went to the living room with the intention of killing himself in front of his wife. Keck had not checked to see whether the gun was loaded, and stood at the opposite end of the couch from his wife, holding the gun in his right hand next to his head.
He yelled at Henderson, saying “Will this make you happy?” when the gun went off, striking her through the neck. Keck told deputies that he didn’t expect the gun to go off and that he wasn’t intentionally aiming it at Henderson.
After the gun went off, Keck didn’t know where the bullet had gone and went to the bathroom to check on his 13-year-old son. When Keck returned to the living room and saw that the bullet had hit his wife, he called 911, then called again from another phone when emergency workers hadn’t yet arrived. Henderson was bleeding heavily when emergency workers arrived, and was taken to Indiana University Health Methodist Hospital for treatment, and was later released.
At his sentencing hearing last month, Henderson testified on behalf of Keck, Johnson County Deputy Prosecutor Shaina Carmichael said.
The nature and circumstances of the incident were concerning, but multiple factors were also considered when resolving the case, including the victim’s wishes, she said.
Keck also did not have a prior criminal history, accepted responsibility for his actions, sparing the victim from going through a trial, and received extensive treatment prior to the case resolving, she said.
Keck’s attorney, Bradley Keffer, declined to comment on the case.
