Rifles

Trial date set for U.S. hunter who shot husband

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American Mary Beth Harshbarger, charged in connection with the shooting death of her husband during a 2006 hunting trip to Buchans Junction, Newfoundland, will finally get her day in court. Two weeks have been set aside in the Newfoundland Supreme Court starting September 13.

Harshbarger, 45, has already pleaded not guilty to criminal negligence causing death with the use of a firearm. She was extradited to Newfoundland and Labrador in mid-May following a lengthy legal battle with U.S. and Canadian authorities. A second charge of careless use of a firearm was dropped in May during her first court appearance in Grand Falls-Windsor, Newfoundland.

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The details surrounding the shooting were the focus of a major investigative article (pictured here) in the Winter 2010 issue of Outdoor Canada magazine. The Meshoppen, Pennsylvania, woman maintains she thought her husband, Mark Harshbarger, was an approaching black bear when she shot him six minutes before the end of legal light with a scoped .30-06 at 65 yards.

Harshbarger was granted bail last month, but has yet to post the requisite $200,000 bond. In a recent interview with CBC Radio, Mary Beth Harshbarger’s current partner, Barry Harshbarger, suggested she declined bail in order to garner time served against any future potential sentence. The brother of Mark Harshbarger, Barry Harshbarger had accompanied the pair during the ill-fated hunting trip.