Shooting of Mother Called Accidental
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Opening arguments were heard Tuesday morning in the trial of an Aberdeen man charged with involuntary manslaughter in the 2009 death of his mother.
Officers responding to a 911 call of shots fired found Douglas Mattiford Doughten holding his 72-year-old mother, Barbara Shortt Doughten, trying to resuscitate her. The pair shared a residence at 124 Apologue Lane, in Aberdeen.
"He claimed he'd heard a noise, and picked up a 9-mm. handgun he kept loaded and holstered in his bedroom," Assistant District Attorney Peter Strickland told the jury. "He fired, and the bullet went through the wall of his bedroom into the living room."
There it struck and apparently ricocheted from a television set.
"It went through the living room wall into his mother's bedroom and through her bedroom wall into her bathroom where it hit her," Strickland said. "She screamed and ran into the bedroom. He caught her as she fell down."
According to a police report, Aberdeen police responded to the 911 at 9:29 p.m. When they arrived at the residence, they discovered Barbara Doughten with a bullet wound under one of her arms. She died later that evening at FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital.
"Douglas Doughten did not intend to kill his mother," Strickland said. "He is not charged with murder. The defendant killed by an intentional, unlawful act. He intended to shoot; that act resulted in death. He did not act in self-defense, in defense of his mother, in defense of his house. Hearing a noise is not enough."
At the time, Doughten told police that he thought he heard someone breaking into the house, and he fired his 9-mm pistol. Following an investigation, in addition to the voluntary manslaughter charge, police charged him with possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia and discharging a firearm inside the city limits. Doughten was released on a $50,000 unsecured bond.
Doughten's brother and sister and their spouses sat behind him at the defense table in the courtroom as trial on the manslaughter charge began on Monday. Doughten's lawyer, James R. Van Camp, of Pinehurst, mentioned a number of defenses when questioning potential jurors.
"There are defenses of accident, defenses of home," Van Camp said, referring to what he called "facts" in the case before quickly saying the judge would explain the law and jurors would determine the facts.
Van Camp repeatedly asked jurors to agree they would have to be convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that "the death wasn't an accident, -wasn't defense of the home, wasn't defense of another." He reminded them that the state's evidence had to prove Doughten's killing his own mother was not any of these things.
In his opening statement, Van Camp described the events of that August evening as tragic but accidental. "This is not an argument, but an idea of how you can see the evidence," he said. "Douglas loved his mother. What happened that night was only part of what took place.
"On April 24, 20009, while he was working at Forest Creek, she saw a man coming in at her back door and called 911. The man ran away. Two days later, they came home from church and the house had been ransacked. Guns and ammunition he had at the time were stolen."
His client tried to do something to be sure he and his mother would be safe in the future, according to Van Camp.
"Douglas took a gun safety course and bought a pistol," he said. "He got a security system put in. Three and a half months later, at same time of night, he heard a noise from the same area, and shot toward the door."
Van Camp told jurors the odds of that bullet following the path it took were "a billion to one."
"Foreseeable?" he said. "No. Could you make a bullet do that? Once in a billion times? A tragedy? Yes. A crime? We leave it in your hands."
Senior Resident Superior Court Judge James M. Webb was unexpectedly holding court in Carthage. Webb, who lives in Moore County, told jurors he would normally have been presiding in High Point. The state constitution requires rotation of judges, but a High Point resident judge asked to be allowed to remain home this week, so Webb found himself once more on the bench in Carthage.
Contact John Chappell at jfchappell@gmail.com.
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Comments
TooHot 2 years, 3 months ago
OK Doug. You hear a noise in another room and just fire the gun through the wall? Another pothead trying to make society understand his warped world.
momof2 2 years, 3 months ago
Sounds like a horrific accident. I hate that the family has to relive this tragedy in a courtroom.
melzabeth 2 years, 3 months ago
Okay the guy made a realllly dumb mistake. But clearly it was a mistake and not an intentional attempt to kill her. Why did we waste my tax dollars to take this to court?
golfin69 2 years, 3 months ago
Just another case that the attorney will work so it sounds like the accused is the Victim, Whatever happened to actually seing the threat before you take action or seing what you are shooting at? As Van Camp might say listen to the FACTS yes and they are pretty clear his defendant shot the firearm in disregard for the safety of others and this caused someones death regardless if it was the suspect or an innocent bystander someone died because of those actions. (Period).. Now watch and listen to how the defense puts on the show to get their man off. I really feel for the family, but he should have to spend time in the pen.
golfin69 2 years, 3 months ago
@melzabeth--It is a Crime, Really??
melzabeth 2 years, 3 months ago
say what?
dustyrhoades 2 years, 3 months ago
Where's the NRA to tell us how much safer we are with guns in the house?
Bflat 2 years, 3 months ago
He fired at the front door from : His bedroom - Living Room - bullet richochet off TV - Mother's bedroom - mother's bathroom. Someone had come in the door of that house previously & she called 911. The house had been broken into previously & ransacked. Enough said.
melzabeth 2 years, 3 months ago
exactly
dustyrhoades 2 years, 3 months ago
I think the Israelis have one too.
And, it seems there's a local connection:
Local Gun Featured in New Movie by John Chappell
Zoey 2 years, 3 months ago
Mr. Gizmo?
teufelhunden 2 years, 3 months ago
I smell a troll...
JER 2 years, 3 months ago
Two things are stated in this article that are not accidents: The defendant fired at a sound, not knowing what made that sound and the defendant had guns in his house that were taken during an earlier break-in, which means they were not secured in the home. I'm with Dusty, lets have the NRA testify on how the defendant is blameless and maybe we can have some of the local "cowboys" appear as character witnesses. Yes folks, guns don't kill people do they.
jcinaberdeen 2 years, 3 months ago
Okay, so a dumb drunk gets behind the wheel of a vehicle and 'accidentally' kills innocent drivers minding their own business. So it gets ruled that NOONE is allowed to drive cars any more! Makes just about the same sense as outlawing legal gun ownership. It is not the 'weapon'- it is the user....
Amazed 2 years, 3 months ago
so put the NRA on trial. the 2nd amendment on trial. Ed's gun shop for selling him the gun...whatever, but come on. This poor man shot and killed his own mother...totally on accident. The family have lost their mother and may well lose their brother to an unjust incarceration. I would imagine the guilt of what has happened is punishment enough.
JER 2 years, 3 months ago
I have total sympathy for the family. What happened was tragic. But what happened was not an accident. When you drive your car 100 mph on slick roads and crash, that is not a "accident", it is the result that can be expected. When you fire a gun at a sound, not knowing what made that sound, you can expect something bad to happen. I am a gun control advocate and offer this as an example of why I feel that way. I'll also point out that in the Wed. edition of the Pilot, there were reports of six, (yes six), stolen guns in Moore County, taken during home break-ins. Wonder where the bad guys get their weapons?
jcinaberdeen 2 years, 3 months ago
Then they should stay the hell outta mine and other people's houses!! And had the homeowners been home and good shots- maybe we'd be rid of a few more low-life, no-good, stealing thugs!! Seriously JER, your reasoning makes no sense. Hey- I might have painkillers in my house- What if someone breaks in and steals them and then overdoses?! Oh, that is my fault, right? My kid might play baseball...what if someone breaks in, steals that bat and then bludgeons someone with it...Well, now we're gonna have to outlaw baseball!! I'm sure you see where I'm going with this- Nowhere. Because it makes no sense- same as your 'argument'.
I am all for limiting certain weapons like automatics, etc. to only certain people, etc., but I'll be darned if you or anyone else it gonna tell me I can't legally own a pistol because someone else's poor judgment.
He should not have obviously have shot without first making sure he knew EXACTLY who/what he was shooting. What if the UPS guy was lost and/or making a delivery and just happened to knock on their door? What if it was a girl scout? It was obviously a VERY bad decision on his part. I am sure the guilt he feels will be punishment enough for what he did.
theonewithsense 2 years, 3 months ago
we should outlaw cars and alcohol too because some break the law and drive drunk and kill people. If there were no cars, there would be not drunk driving fatalities.
M3rules 2 years, 3 months ago
You know the sad part about your post is that someone out there agrees with it.
Zoey 2 years, 3 months ago
JER, If they take my 2nd amendment right, I sure hope they strip you of your 1st amendment rights.....
JER 2 years, 3 months ago
Ah Zoey, making the immediate leap into having your weapons taken away. I said I was a gun CONTROL advocate. I did not say I advocated banning guns. (Here is where you say: "yes, but it's just a short step....a slippery slope, to taking away my 2nd amendment rights"). I have no problem with hunters having rifles and shotguns to hunt with. I have a very big problem with guns that fire large quantities of bullets in seconds. There is NO reason for anyone other than law enforcement and the military to have access to this kind of weapon. I also have a large problem with irresponsible gun owners that do not keep their weapons locked up. And I have a major problem with unstable nut cases having any type of access to any type of gun. If you find fault with any of the above, perhaps they need to take a closer look at you as a potential gun owner. So you can have your 2nd amendment and I'll keep my 1st amendment.
Zoey 2 years, 3 months ago
JER, with you filling in the blanks for me, do I even need to comment? :) As to me finding 'fault' with any of the above, you know I do. There's no need to expand on that anymore. There's a gun show in Fayetteville this weekend. I was wondering, maybe you would like to tag along? I was thinking about buying a Arsenal SA M-7 R with the 75rd drum magazine. Wanna Go ?
JER 2 years, 3 months ago
Have a great time at the gun show but I won't be able to attend. Sounds like that would be the ideal weapon for you. At least it's made in the USA. Do you plan on setting it up on a tripod and have it aimed at your front door to keep away the boogie men? Or maybe you can invite some guys and their eight year old children over so they can all have a turn firing it.
jamjam 2 years, 3 months ago
good 1
AndyR 2 years, 3 months ago
Unlike most of you I know Doug personally and knew his mother as well. He's a standup guy and one of the most good hearted guys I've ever known. She was a kind woman and both attended our wedding years ago. I thought the world of her, God rest her soul. Doug lived with her and cared for her everyday. Unlike most of us who are more interested in our own lives than caring for our parents on a full time basis. I also know the layout of the home and can truly rule this as a freak accident. the stray bullet traveled through 3 walls. Doug, rousted from bed at the door jiggling and half asleep, He fired at the doorway as someone tried to enter it again, probably armed with one of his own stolen firearms either to harm them or steal everything they worked for. two good reasons to shoot some p.o.s. in my opinion. He'll have to live with that memory and the loss of his mother for the rest of his life. I think he's already suffered enough but no, we (society) aren't satisfied.. lets send him to prison for it. really? afterall, "we" need closure.
This whole case is garbage, and the sad part is that someone out there is watching this guy suffer for a bullet that was meant for him.. and your home may be next. I hope the jury is smart enough to understand that sometimes things happen and that we can't just point fingers and expect someone to be held at fault or that accidents are crimes. Put yourself into his shoes. A.
TooHot 2 years, 3 months ago
Was he doing a bong hit when all this happened? Just fired the gun thru the wall at a sound in the other room eh? Is that what a "standup guy" does?
JER 2 years, 3 months ago
According to the dictionary, accident is defined as anything happening without known or assignable cause. A mistake is defined as an error or fault in action,judgement, perception or understanding. Which of these words best describes what happened? Mr. Daughton made a mistake that cost his mother her life. The prison system is full of people who made a mistake. If you want to stem the carnage by gun in this country, we all have got to get a lot tougher.
Yukonjohn 2 years, 3 months ago
This is so sad. Thank God we have a law here in Alaska that we can defend our homes, our property, friends, and anyone that is being threatened with harm. This poor man has lost his Mother due to his actions, let him suffer in his agony that will last his entire life. Dusty, we agree on many things, but this is not one. I am not a raving NRA guy like my brother in Carthage, but I do believe in American's rights to own weapons and to protect what is theirs. God Bless America, and let this man go.
Bflat 2 years, 3 months ago
Gun control and having guns locked up.... Oh my! I wonder how long it will take to unlock that gun when it's needed. By that time, it may be to late. Criminals will just steal the kind of guns that fire many bullets rapidly, then what are you going to do when confronted?
theonewithsense 2 years, 3 months ago
I have one of those little gun safes with the finger buttons on top. It's bolted down right next to my bed. It takes me 5 seconds to get it which is about the same amount of time that it took when I had it in a drawer next to my bed. I got it from Ed's for like 70 bucks.
Hortiphile 2 years, 3 months ago
Kudos to you, AndyR! We know him as well and everything you said is true... Doug IS a "standup guy". It was obviously an accident, whether you know him or not. There's no denying the facts. Isn't it bad enough that he has to live with knowing he tragically killed his own mother on accident? I am so relieved that he has the support of his family.
golfin69 2 years, 3 months ago
I am not questioning whether Doug is a standup guy, Dont know him. All I am saying is if I am at my house and I hear a noise and decide to shoot my pistol at the area of the noise and lets say it goes through the wall and bounces off of something and strikes my neighbors CHILD who passes away. How would you feel about it then would you honestly sit here and say it was an accident I shouldn't be charged, I very seriously doubt it... I agree it was an ACCIDENT he did not intend to kill his mother but someone has to be ACCOUNTABLE for their actions and those actions took someones life, I am sorry but it does not matter if he meant to do it or not. Now I am NOT saying he should get life or the death penalty please but he should receive something for his negligence. Here lies the problem no one wants to be accountable for their actions anymore, lets blame it on the other guy....enough said...
native 2 years, 3 months ago
But,, even in those circumstances...should it be prison...don't we have enough people in prison...if you need to assign blame..then fine them...he is definately not a criminal.........
Hortiphile 2 years, 3 months ago
Not only is Doug a "stand-up" guy who has hardly even been able to worry about this trial for the last year, he has been so racked with grief over the devastating loss of his beloved mother whom he was trying to protect from the thugs who already broke into his HOME and stole property (including his precious war medals), but he is also a decorated war hero, a veteran of military service overseas in Beirut in the 80s, when, as part of a Navy SEAL team, Navy Chief Petty Officer Doughten was instrumental in the taking of a key communications tower. Actually HE is the one who took it and was personally mentioned by name in a program on the events relating to the taking of the tower on The Military Channel. He is an older guy not old but approaching 50, and a disabled veteran who weighs about 150 lbs with his boots on, who has diabetes and still has a bullet in him from defending this country with citizens like some of y'all who are so quick and cruel to throw him under the bus when he is going through such a personally painful and horribly tragic time as this. This trial has been terrible burden, but nothing comparing to the tragic loss of his beloved mother. Shame on you guys for your lack of empathy and respect for a true American HERO. He is a credit to his county, state, and country, and I for one am so proud of him I am tearing up in my eyes just thinking about his sacrifices and losses he incurred for our liberty. And when he was terrified for his mother's safety - in the days after the break-in that's all he could talk about; what would happen to any punks who came back AGAIN and harmed his mother - and acted out of years of training and reflex that he learned DEFENDING YOUR LIBERTY, you wanna jump on the bandwagon and trash his honorable name? In part b/c he had a tiny minuscule amount of cannabis that he took occasionally for the pain from his injuries (and yes - it was a TINY amount, trust me: I know what a pot-head is, and on a scale from total abstainer being a zero to a being a ten, he was about a zero-point-ONE) he incurred defending your freedom and liberties? Please you all should be ASHAMED of yourselves, and everybody being mean to Doug should learn a little about discretion, self-control, and thinking before you open your babble-holes and begin trashing someone when you don't know all the facts and circumstances surrounding an event of this tragic magnitude. God bless you Doug. And bless the judge, who today, after carefully, thoughtfully, and deliberately hearing the opening arguments of the prosecution and the facts surrounding the events, promptly THREW THE CASE OUT ON THE GROUNDS THAT THERE WASN'T EVIDENCE CHIEF DOUGHTEN HAD BROKEN THE LAW AND COMPLETELY AND UNEQUIVOCALLY EXONERATED HIM. And GOD BLESS Jim Van Camp for taking the case PRO BONO, as truly exceptional lawyers very occasionally have been known....(Cont'd)
Hortiphile 2 years, 3 months ago
(from cont'd) ...to do, often to ensure justice is done in cases they feel compelled to take for moral - or ethical - reasons when and if they can afford to.
Note: I have absolutely no problem with dustyrhoades' comments. While I don't agree with his position, and feel he could be more sensitive toward a native son with Doug's record and reputation, he feels strongly in his beliefs, they are obviously well thought-out, and he is merely engaging in dialogue in support of his beliefs. My critique is not aimed at his pro-gun-control advocacy argument or comments, but at the disrespectful attackers of Doug and libelous comments. Doug knows his mother was smiling down from heaven and telling him everything was gonna be fine, long before the Honorable Judge Webb dismissed the case today, and I know your comments have bothered me a lot more than him; he knows in his heart he was righteously vindicated in his heart long before any court verified this fact. I would like to go on further, but out of respect for those who already are on the same page and are still reading this somewhat long-winded response, I'll stop now. Bless all of Doug's family as they mourn the loss of Doug's sweet Mama now that they can mourn her without a cloud of prosecution hanging over the family and her son. The weight has been lifted, my friend. Get some rest and hold your head high, you deserve it. We love you and support you and are here for you.
Hortiphile 2 years, 3 months ago
Thank you and bless you both, YokonJohn and Bflat.
dustyrhoades 2 years, 3 months ago
Hortiphile, since you mentioned me specifically, I want to make one thing clear. Making a comment about the NRA doesn't mean I think Mr. Doughten should have been prosecuted in this case. In fact, anyone who's heard me mention this case in the past few days will tell you, the question most often on my lips is "how the heck do you get voluntary [manslaughter] out of that?!" (Except I didn't say "heck").
AndyR 2 years, 3 months ago
Glad to see that some sanity was found in the court today. Trying this man for voluntary manslaughter is likened to dragging a guy into court for accidentally snaging his fishing buddy with a hook while fishing and charging him with assault. This was a freak accident. period. manslaughter is driving down the road drunk and killing someone in a wreck.