VA - John Conroy, 37, shot to death, Partlow, 8 March 2016

[Swirlz]

For much of the week, teenager Bailey Doggett sat beside his attorneys in Spotsylvania Circuit Court with a stoic look on his face.

But after a jury cleared him of a manslaughter charge early Friday afternoon, Doggett’s emotions came spilling out. Seconds after Judge Joseph Ellis told him he was free to go, he burst into tears and fell into the arms of some of his supporters.

Doggett, 16, was charged in connection with the March 8, 2016, slaying of 37-year-old John Conroy Jr., his mother’s live-in boyfriend. Mary Doggett had told Conroy, who she’d been in a relationship with since 2007, that she wanted him out of her home and a heated argument erupted.

The argument ended when Bailey Doggett fired five shots, killing Conroy in the home on Towles Mill Road in Partlow. The teen had taken the gun out of his mother’s purse just before they entered the home.

http://www.fredericksburg.com/news/...cle_72770737-1ae2-5151-9aab-e562f779bcbd.html

 

[glf]

I believe any 15 year old kid would panic, and be afraid, thus resulting in him firing five shots. He probably didn't have time to think about the consequences.

 

[Indy Anna]

I believe any 15 year old kid would panic, and be afraid, thus resulting in him firing five shots. He probably didn't have time to think about the consequences.

I really don't like guns, but I agree. He was afraid for his mother and nervous, not knowing what Conroy's response would be.

I also understand why his mother allowed her teenage son to keep the gun with him. I think it was more for his sake, to defend himself in case she became immobilized, which is what apparently happened. But, he was thinking of his mother's safety.

Maybe there was a better way of evicting Conroy, like having LE present. But, I'm glad Mary and her son are safe, and that he was found not guilty.