A South Florida widow who police say helped her husband commit suicide has been charged with manslaughter in his death.
Valerie Jenkins, 56, was in a Miami-Dade courtroom Wednesday to face manslaughter with a deadly weapon charges in the May 2009 suicide of husband Robert Jenkins.
Prosecutors say Valerie Jenkins "engaged in a course of conduct that was gross and flagrant, showing reckless disregard for human life" when she allegedly retrieved her husband's pistol for him as the couple argued in their Cutler Bay home in the 10000 block of Martinique Drive, according to the Miami Herald.
After the 51-year-old auto mechanic kept telling her he wanted to die, Valerie asked him if he wanted his gun, and he said yes. She tossed the .22-caliber on the couch next to him and he put it to his head and pulled the trigger.
According to an arrest warrant, the two had argued frequently during their 7-year marriage and though he threatened to use the gun in the past, "he had never actually asked her for it while they were arguing."
Valerie Jenkins said that on the day of his death, Robert was "probably depressed" and had been drinking beer. His blood alcohol level was tested by a medical examiner and found to be .14, almost twice the legal limit.
Robert Jenkins' sister-in-law said he had never talked of suicide, and that his widow shares blame in his death.
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"We all have to be accountable for our actions," Robin Jenkins told the Herald. "Her actions resulted in Bob's death."
Valerie Jenkins pleaded not guilty and was released on $25,000 bond. Her lawyer said she didn't think her husband would ever pull the trigger and that she was abused by him throughout their marriage.
"The deceased put Mrs. Jenkins in a very bad position many times over the course of their marriage, abused her emotionally, as well as physically and the result was this tragic event," said attorney James Best. "Frankly it was brought on by him and nobody else."
