A Stoddard, N.H., woman will not be charged for fatally shooting her estranged husband earlier this year. Attorney General Gordon J. MacDonald said Nicole Carney acted in self-defense after her ex—Michael—broke into her home, refused to leave, then confronted Carney and her 5-year-old daughter as they hid on the second floor.
Investigators said, “Nicole held off on using deadly force until it was clear that Michael would not comply with her orders to leave the house and when he was just a few moments away from reaching her and her daughter.”
Carney told the New Hampshire Union Leader that her husband had a long record of drinking and threatening her, and became furious when he discovered she was living in the new house. Nicole received a stream of texts from Michael on the day of the shooting, with one saying “I hope you die!!!” and ending with a cryptic “Here,” before he entered the residence. The police report said, “He had told her about a month ago, ‘If I can’t have you, no one can.’”