Man accused of shooting wife says he didn’t know gun loaded

By Cara McCoy

Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2009 | 7:26 p.m.

A Laughlin man arrested in the shooting death of his wife told police he had pretended to shoot her during an argument four years ago to “shut her up” and believed the gun was unloaded when he pulled the trigger on Sunday, according to an arrest report.

Police responded shortly after 3:30 p.m. to the home of Walter Freshman in the 1800 block of Oasis Court. Freshman had called 911 to report that he had accidentally shot his wife.

Upon opening the door for responding officers, Freshman said, “I can’t believe I killed her, I can’t believe I shot her,” according to the report released Wednesday.

Officers found the body of Kristine Freshman, 57, on the floor of the master bedroom with a gunshot wound to the back of her head, the report said. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

Walter Freshman is facing one count of murder with a deadly weapon in connection with her death.

During an interview with police at the Tucker Holding Facility in Laughlin, Walter Freshman told investigators that he and his wife had had an argument during which she told him she wanted to kill herself, police said. He told police that they had been married for 10 years.

Walter Freshman told investigators he had owned a variety of firearms throughout his life and was familiar with how to operate a gun. According to the report, he told police that he always kept the magazines of his weapons full but didn’t keep rounds in the chamber.

During the argument, he pulled a Ruger semi-automatic .22-caliber pistol from the headboard and put it on the bed for his wife to use against herself but instead of picking it up, Kristine Freshman asked her husband to shoot her with it, he reportedly told police.

Thinking the pistol wasn’t loaded, he put the barrel against the back of his wife’s head and pulled the trigger because he wanted to show her how close to death she was, according to the report.

He explained to investigators that four years earlier, they had an argument during which he pointed a shotgun at his wife and pulled the trigger. The shotgun, he said, only “clicked” but the incident had “shut her up,” according to the report.