Bloemfontein - A Free State woman appeared in court on Tuesday following an incident in which she accidentally shot her husband after mistaking him for a burglar.
Volksblad reported on Wednesday that pharmacist Karen Fouché appeared briefly in the Ficksburg Magistrate's Court, where an attempted murder charge against her was withdrawn.
Fouché was arrested on Saturday night after she mistook her husband, Frik, for a burglar and shot him twice in the body. He had returned to their farm at about 23:15 without his keys and then allegedly tried to cut open the security gate with a blowtorch.
Fouché was awakened by the noise and shot at the “burglar”, only to discover it was her husband when she switched on the lights.
Her son later posted on Facebook that the rounds went right through his father and no organs or arteries were damaged.
Apparently Frik decided to cut the gate because there is no cellphone reception at the farm and the landline was not working.
He was discharged from a Bethlehem hospital on Tuesday.
Fouché’s legal representative, Jonker Botha, said his client should never have been arrested because no charge was laid. The family will sort it out themselves, he added.
According to Volksblad, Fouché refused to comment.