BETH - LIONESS OR LAMB? THE PROSECUTION OF THE "ACCIDENTAL" KILLER

  Beth was a fifth grade school teacher.  She was married to Eric Morton and was his fourth wife.  In the early morning hours of 24 June 1992, while Beth's children, 9 year old Kevin and seven year old Kurt were on the sofa-bed in the living room, Eric Morton came to the isolated cabin and stormed across the living room into the bedroom.  Beth was asleep.  Morton shut the door.  Kevin could hear voices and suddenly heard a "puff" sound, like a book falling onto the floor.  Eric Morton emerged from the bedroom carrying Beth in his arms.  He told the boys to get into the truck.  In a wild dash to Cape Fear Valley Hospital, Eric kept shouting for the boys to administer CPR to their mother.  Morton slammed on brakes under the ER canopy and ran into the ER shouting hysterically for someone to help his wife.  He later told the officers he and Beth had been fighting over the gun and it just went off.  It was defective.  He did not even know where Beth had been shot.

  Eric Morton had also accidentally shot his first wife with a defective gun, 22 years prior to Beth being shot.