87-year-old woman accused of shooting her husband; claims her husband was cheating on her with her hairdresser

Desjardins

An 87-year-old woman has been charged after allegedly shooting her 88-year-old husband. Police say she believed he was cheating on her.Dorothy Desjardins, of Springfield, was charged Sunday in Greene County Circuit Court with second-degree domestic assault.
Her husband, Peter Desjardins, was treated and released from a local hospital after suffering a single gunshot to his right forearm.
Peter Desjardins, who was contacted at home by the News-Leader, said his wife suffered from multiple medical ailments and he believed her conditions contributed to her actions. He declined further comment.
Court documents indicate Dorothy Desjardins shot her husband with a 22-caliber revolver after confronting him about a suspected affair with her hairdresser.
Peter Desjardins told authorities he was in bed when his wife walked into the room and began to throw books at him.
She then picked up the revolver, according to the documents.

Peter Desjardins told detectives his right arm was covering his face when the gun went off.
According to the documents, Dorothy Desjardins said she was just trying to scare her husband.
"He had it coming. He was cheating on me," Dorothy Desjardins allegedly said to the detectives.Dorothy Desjardins was still listed among the Greene County Jail population on Monday.
A search of online court records did not show any prior offenses for her.
Assistant Prosecutor Matthew Russell said his office had little choice but to charge and jail the elderly woman.
"When we filed the charges, we not only looked at the safety of society and the safety of the victim," he said.
"We looked at the entire picture."
Russell said another option would have been to release the woman, but because she didn't have any other family and her bond requires her to stay away from her home, she would have nowhere else to go.
"It's certainly a tragic story," Russell said.
Dorothy Desjardins has been housed in the female wing of the jail since she was booked just before midnight Saturday.