Woman dies from self-inflicted gunshot wound
By JIM HARRINGTON
Article published on Thursday, April 27, 2006  |
CLEARWATER – A woman who claimed she was abducted in March died Tuesday morning at her house at 115 N. Jupiter Ave. A family friend was staying with Kathleen Atkins, 44, when he heard a gunshot at 5:50 a.m. April 25, said Clearwater police spokesman Wayne Shelor.
The man, who was not identified, called 911. Authorities determined she had died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in the bedroom of her house, which is north of Drew Street.
The weapon was a semi automatic.
She had started to sleep with a gun in her bed, Shelor said.
As of April 26, an autopsy had not determined whether the single bullet injury was accidental or self-inflicted, Shelor said in a recorded news briefing Wednesday afternoon.
“We don’t believe anybody was involved in her death,” said Shelor.
In early March, Atkins claimed she had been forced to take a liquid of some kind and was taken against her will in the covered bed of a truck by a man who later left her not far from a mobile home in Lakeland.
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Article published on Thursday, April 27, 2006
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