Eighty-five-year-old Idaho woman saves herself and son from burglar in ‘heroic act’

But investigators say Jenneiahn saved herself as well as her son – whom authorities described as disabled – from the intruder by grabbing a revolver she had hidden under her pillow, shooting and mortally wounding the violent burglar.

Yet she survived her injuries, her son was physically unharmed, and a local prosecutor who classified the case as a justified killing hailed her actions as “one of the most heroic acts of self-preservation I have heard of”.

As Bingham county district attorney Ryan Jolley said in a statement published Tuesday, “This case presents an easy analysis of self-defense and justifiable homicide.”

Citing evidence at the scene, authorities believe the man – identified as 39-year-old Derek Condon – had barged into Jenneiahn’s home through a window and then struck her in the head with his gun, Jolley’s statement said.

Condon would have faced charges of felony attempted murder, kidnapping, aggravated battery and grand theft if he had survived his encounter with Jenneiahn, Jolley’s statement said.

The Bingham county sheriff’s office on Wednesday reposted Jolley’s statement on Facebook, saying that the agency did not mean “to defame the name of the suspect involved or make a tragedy for his family worse” – but rather to explain “a victim … displayed heroism, fortitude and a will to live that we’d be remiss not to share”.