>> richard was sentenced to nine months in jail. kristen grindley, will likely be dealing with the injury she suffered on november 11th, 2009, for the rest of her life. but she keeps her focus on the good things ahead, >> do you think of yourself as? lucky >> yes. >> because you're here? >> yes. ♪ ♪ ♪ i am very happy that i am okay. >> that is all for this edition of dateline. i am andrea cannon, thank you for watching. for watching hello, i'm andrea canning, and this is dateline. it was getting dark as the hunter pulled the trigger, the shape someone said looked like a, bear wasn't.

>> i heard this god awful scream. >> was this an accident? >> there was absolutely no allegation of evil intent. >> or something else? >> i'm with more to her dead than i am alive. >> hello, and welcome to dateline. to outsiders, every marriage is a mystery. some who knew the couple in our story sought to people in love, others a marriage in trouble. but, all agree this husband and wife did have one thing going for them, they both loved hunting. they were also both excellent shots, so good they rarely missed whatever the target. here's keith moore with as darkness fell. >> twilight, the day going fast now, the meadow, a while in

blackwood. what did she know, now as she studied, herself was it hours ago on -- did she know already back at the camp in the morning? where was it later, much later that they showed her the evidence, and darkness that swallowed them all. they call it the rock, this gorgeous island with this fishing and cove and mile after mile of woods. a place to fall in love, a place where love can sour, and turn perhaps to murder. except, surely not, not here in newfoundland canada, with its small sweetow, ms. ospur double people, and vast an ancient forest teaming with bare, mousse, and caribou. remote, quiet. not -- much close. so the question that arose that awful september night was this,

had crime, vicious crime been important to newfoundland, or was it no crime all? you will have to come here if you hope to find the answer, another you can call it 1500 miles southwest of the land in rural eastern pennsylvania, where -- met the love of his life mary beth. >> mark said when he saw her, he said oh i want to marry her. and, when she saw mark, she said i'm going to marry that man. >> mary beth was floating on air, though her friend -- this is -- >> so it was as if they were meant for each other, and they were very much alive, very much in love. >> had mark talked to his sister sharon about mary beth, over whom he was? >> he started the conversation with me a couple times, and he said, did you ever just look at somebody, and know that they were the right person for you?

>> they were suited to each other, suited. >> mark was the apple of his father's eye, who knew love when he saw it. >> he thought that she was just what he was looking for. >> mark was an expert hunter who learned at his dad's knee, and so was mary beth. not many girls like her. >> she was a very much for the outdoors as well, running, fishing. >> he was crazy about her? >> she was very good with a rifle. she could shoot. >> so she could. here's how mark and my breath celebrated their marriage, and later they most joined what mostly one of the most exclusive clubs anywhere. >> they shot competitively, at an exclusive 1000 yard club, it is a very difficult to shoot at a target of 1000 yards away. >> no kidding. anyway, as love grew, so did the couple's collection of precision rifles. >> you have to have a special

sort of gun to do that, right? >> yes, you have to have good, equipment and you have to be good with that equipment. >> sure, in addition, what does the equipment provide to help people see targets that far away. >> well, they had very good scopes. >> of course, shooting was by no means -- and a couple -- bought into the marriage. and, when mark first became a father -- >> i remember how happy he was with his little girl, and she was so, thrilled and he was as well. he would look at the baby in the best net, and he could sit there for hours. >> something else about mark, he was a good provider. his contracting job paid good enough he was able to build a big new home for his family, which by 2006 included a baby boy. he enjoyed having family around, like older brother very, and his wife linda. >> the first time in his life,

he was really happy with things. >> of course, nothing is perfect, marks other older brother had issues with mary beth. it might have been mutual. anyway, all things considered, mark was a happy man as he told his sister. >> if i die tomorrow, i have lived a good life. >> then in the summer of 2006, mark and mary beth plan the ideal vacation. ideal for them anyway, a hunting trip, to one of their favorite and frequent destinations. newfoundland. >> you know, the night before they left for newfoundland, he told me, he said you should see mary beth shoot that rifle. he said, you know, these little plastic pill bottles, she can hit one of those in 250 yards at the rifle. and, that is pretty fine shooting. >> it was september 2006, they packed up the truck, took their baby boy and four-year-old

daughter with, them also marks brother very. they drove up to nova scotia, took the ferry seven hours across the ocean to newfoundland. >> everything was just as fun as it could be. >> they hired a guide, shot a few caribou, and he backed a black bear. people at the hunting lodge noted how affectionate they were, calling oh i love you every time they separated even briefly. >> it was a beautiful, country beautiful trip, it was more than happy with life. >> then, the six, early, evening they set out on one last hunt. mary beth's turn perhaps to -- nature opt off very to hunt by himself. >> it was a rainy jury foggy night, the wind was, blowing it was an excellent time for came to come out, move, and -- with the early darkness. >> mark and a guy parked the truck, got out, and disappeared into the woods. he told me breathy would scare off the beer if they saw one.

and she packed with the kids into the cabin, climbed in the pickup, positioned herself, -- peered through her powerful rifle scope. >> you still could see, objects you still could see to an extent -- >> 15 minutes, pass almost dark now. mary beth saw movement. a bear, she appeared through her gun scope, squeezed the trigger. but, it wasn't a bear. >> coming up, what did mary beth shoot? >> and i put my scope on him, and i was, looking and looking, and i fired. and i heard the scream. it was horrible. >> when dateline continues. ♪ breeze driftin' on... ♪ [coughing] ♪ ...by, you know how i feel. ♪ if you're tired of staring down your copd,...

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newfoundland, -- light fading, they headed back from the final hunt of the day. as they approach the clearing where his wife waited in the truck with the, kids the guide stop to relieve himself. alone, now mark west springs picked his way through the growth, through what is called scanners, sometimes three feet deep over fallen logs, through grasswood to the time was 3 to 5 feet high in front of him. about 200 feet in that direction, his wife mary beth was standing in the back of a pick up truck, did she see him

this far away? that is when the guide heard the shot, stepped out into the, woods and saw the body. he called out to mary beth. >> i said what did you shoot a? she said i shot at a bear. did i get him? i said no, you got mark. >> that was no bear she killed. it was her husband. it was pandemonium then. the kids whaling, mary beth sobbing trying to go to the body, the guide held her back and put her in the chalk. drove off to find a working phone, picked up -- >> they come screaming, yelling, mary beth was crying, and i didn't know what had happened. i said i am so, sorry i'm so sorry. there has been an accident. he said go, mark was involved in an accident, how is he, he is gone. >> he said no he can't meghan. >> but mark was gone.

left dead back in the clearing, once at the, lodge they called the police. the royal canadian mounted police, the rcmp. >> of course they closed all the roads, they started investigating. >> mary beth was a mess, appear to be in shock. it was passed to a amount east recorded her version of events. >> i was scanning and the truck with a loaded weapon, and i saw a black mayor come out in the woods. >> so at first with her naked, i she said. >> and i put my scope on him, and i was looking, and looking, and i fired. i heard this god awful scream, it was horrible. >> the bullet hit at mid chest, he was dead in an instant. >> that was my husband. >> but, couldn't she tell through the twilight that it wasn't him? >> were you able to see clearly across, where a considerable distance? >> i thought it was, for the 50 yards i was looking, at for the bear.

i saw a clear bear. >> what you're telling me as you saw a bear? >> with the scope, and might make it i. my scope magnified, it and i looked, and it was a bear. >> and then she said, -- for this conclusion. >> i think it was too dark to shoot. i should not have taken the shot. >> you didn't get a clear picture? >> i thought i had a clear picture, but obviously not. >> so, now the question -- all too familiar to cops everywhere -- >> mary beth, you and mark, ever had any marital issues or problems? >> we had the perfect life, the perfect, marriage the perfect family. i loved him so much. he was my everything. i could not wait for him -- not as what i live for. we had a great life. we had so much in common.

i don't know how to go without him. >> i think we are done. >> investigators left mary beth to grieve, and of course to call the family with the awful news. mary beth's first call was to her friend match. >> she says, marcus dead. he was shot. i asked her who shot him. she said, i did. she was crying so hard. it was difficult to make out what she was saying. i said have you told anyone? she says no, i'm calling your first. >> mary got on the phone as well, not to his father or brother or sisters, he called his wife linda, and asked her to deliver the news. >> linda called me, and said mark's gone. i said what do you mean mark is gone? and she said, mary beth shot

him. she thought he was a, where she shot him. >> then, sharon had to tell the father lee. >> i will never forget the look on her face when she came in, and right away it was mark. mark is gone. >> just like that? >> yes, and it was the most devastating thing that had ever happened to me in my life. >> mark was his baby, his hunting buddy, the son most like him -- back in newfoundland, the mounties asked mary beth if she would mind staying another day or so while they sorted things, out of course she said yes. though, neither she nor barry slept at all that night. >> i cried all night, and it is tragic experience -- >> at first light, the mounties headed back to the clearing to collect his body, and document what they saw on video. all very sad. in newfoundland, as in many places, hunting accidents are

if not exactly common, an unfortunate reality. then, the cops got back to headquarters, and all hell broke loose. >> bombarded, and phone calls. >> now this calls for mark's family, mostly demanding that police do something, so many calls. they asked very to tell them to stop. >> they're handed me a satellite phone, they said -- perform their duties. >> there was of course, a reason for all of those calls. everybody would find out about that soon enough. >> back in pennsylvania, mark's family was shocked, but there was something else as well. >> coming up. >> immediately, we had that instant that this wasn't an accident. >> when dateline continues. continues

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than 72 hours after mary said she mistook her husband for a, bear she left newfoundland for the longest that drive back to pennsylvania. her children and brother in law berry with her. and, mark, his body was shipped back in a casket. >> i don't know how to go without him. >> a few days after that -- she pulled up in pennsylvania with the trophies in the truck.

a few caribou -- and, that dead bear, the one mark shot before she shot him. the bear she had stuffed, and way to honor her husband she said his last kill. but, may breaths in laws already to mounting the mounties open an investigation, now adding to the complaints what they saw us a uncaring attitude. >> if i would have killed, someone would have been -- to put me underestimation. i could not even imagine taking a life like, that and be able to function. >> was she calm? >> very calm. >> eerily calm. >> i did not want to believe that she did it on purpose. i gave her every opportunity to tell me she was sorry, and it never happened. and there was no tears, there was no i'm sorry, there was no oh my god, what have i done?

nothing. >> of course, grief are varied and personal, not really the in laws business to judge her method perhaps. but as you see, they did not seem to believe she was grieving. and, though they were all shocked by the killing, they were not really surprised. >> we all knew that something like that could have happened, -- >> knew that this could happen? how? well for one thing, they knew very well mary beth was a crack shot, she was a crypt in newfoundland with a sophisticated light enhancing rifle scope. so, about 200 feet, how could she have mistaken her own husband for a bear? >> the fact that it was only 60 meters in open area, and immediately had that instinct that this was not an accident. it just did not make any sense. >> no, they expected the worst

sort of foul play, and calculated deliberate killing, my a woman they did not like, or trust, not one bit. especially -- when he lived briefly with mark and mary beth, did not end well. >> i fell in bad favor with mary beth. she couldn't control me, she got really intense to the dominating in her manners. >> he saw disturbing things during his short unhappy stay with the couple. >> mary beth would fly off the handle, i saw her -- just violent. >> slap? >> slap to his lips were bleeding. and, ask him why he wasn't afraid sometime -- she threatened to kill him. and, he said, our love for each other is so strong, and should be losing the best thing that ever happen. >> he said he thought his

little brother was crazy to stay with mary beth. mark loved her, and defended her even according to the family, she acted, up or got riled up. >> he would take her for a ride in a cheap, and come back -- >> while he seemed to be able to control her. >> of course, he wasn't, alone not for long. early on, the rest of the family saw the very same signs of trouble. >> she never allowed him to be with any of us, alone. >> she was always there? >> it was like she was brainwashed. >> as the news of the death came crashing in on, them so the seven year old -- grievances against -- as they saw, it there had been ten pretensions, wild spending spree, is disappearing acts, they said they put up with it because they love marc, and they wanted to keep the family together. and something else as, well the knew she had been diagnosed as being bipolar. and, when she didn't take her medication, like when she was pregnant --

>> everyone was really afraid and uncomfortable to be around her. >> i told him he needed to think over the safety of himself, and the children, and she needed to get proper treatment, and he was always concerned about if she was admitted, she wouldn't be allowed to hunt, and that is what they lived for. he did not want her to leave that privilege. >> but eventually, her mood became so severe, she agreed to let mark take her to a psychiatric hospital just over a year before the hunting trip. the family says she signed the papers herself, a way to keep her hunting privileges. but, she certainly did not like the place. >> she said, nobody ever put me in this place again, when she got out of that. >> and, she blamed mark for -- >> but, did she ever forget him according to -- >> i think that is -- >> we have all thought that. >> so when they heard about the

accident, lines went to that. also, some -- mark had always been a good provider, and building a big new house, just five months earlier, he and mary beth increased his life insurance, my half 1 million. >> she says i'm worth more to her dead than i am alive. >> it was a joke, says he wasn't, but it was certainly in their minds when dean and the family made all those phone calls to the rcmp right after the shooting. >> we wanted to talk to the commander of the mounted police, and i did. >> but the mounties, did not seem to share their suspicions. >> they had made the comments, how could we be questioning this? >> i stressed to the point, one of the sergeants and -- nobody tells me how to run our investigations. >> so it was upsetting, they said, what could they do? the mounties apparently ruled

out murder, or any crime. when they sent me back home with the -- very, -- the funeral was to say the least, awkward, tense. >> almost as if -- some state of -- that side. >> i don't even know where his ashes were scattered, i do not know that. >> well, they may not have been scattered at all, actually. here is the urn on a shelf mark built for mary beth. and, that might have been the end of, it really, except of course, with a deep freeze that now split the family. but, it wasn't the end of it. because, not long after, said dean, a strange thing would happen. two of mark's friends came forward, claiming mark once made an unsettling prediction. >> i think she's going to shoot me. mark hesitated, and added, and

she won't miss. >> and yet, another funny thing, they were stacking up now, more than they were, ever this time it was very, suddenly barry's 20 year marriage ended. and as for what he did next, well, what in the world was happening? >> coming up -- perhaps mary beth wasn't fighting with everyone in her husband's family. >> whoever had a moment of doubt and trespassing on your brother's life? >> when dateline continues. n dateline continues unlock humanity's full potential. these are the greats: people living with, thriving with — not held back by — disease. they motivate us to fight diabetes and obesity, rare diseases and cardiovascular conditions, for generations to come. so, everyone can meet their moment. because your disease doesn't define you. so, what will? novo nordisk. driving change.

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euro's top stories. ukraine has begun a counteroffensive against russia, that is according to president volodymyr zelenskyy. you can from this at a news conference in kyiv which canadian prime minister justin trudeau, but would not comment on what stage or face they were in that process. and in columbia, for young children including a one

year-old were found alive after surviving four days in the 40 days in the amazon jungle following a plane crash. a mother and two other adults were killed. they were found by indigenous rescuers who searched remote areas for weeks. now back to dateline. >> welcome back to dateline. i'm andrea canning. mary beth and her husband mark loved to hunt and shoot, they were both excellent marksman, able to hit targets with precision. while on the hunt for a bear one, night mary beth took aim and pulled the trigger. what she shot was not a bear. it was her husband. you saw was a tragic accident, or murder? back to keith more thin with as darkness fell. >> in those that dark days after mark death, his family suspicion solidified into a eternal --

his wife mary beth was convinced had murdered mark, and rather. they told whoever would listen, she knew she was not shooting a bear in the newfoundland woods. >> his family was terribly upset of, course then they started blaming her. they wanted a wreath in, they wanted a person who would be responsible. she was responsible, and she said she, was and she felt horrible. but, nick wanted more. they wanted more than just saying yes i did it, i'm so, sorry i'm so sorry. >> of all of them, only very stood by mary beth. mary who expressed discussed in the weather's accusation that she killed mark out of revenge, or maybe to collect insurance money. he just -- said very. >> i feel it was a game. she was playing a game. persuaded everybody else to feel the same, and -- >> meanwhile, barry did his

best to comfort mary beth. >> crying, and crying, and days at a time. who did she have? nobody really -- from the say they offered to, and nobody was heard. >> but you are here? >> as much as possible. >> so much so that various wife of 20 years walked, out and then it would seem the rest of the family -- very moved in with mary beth. >> he broke down crying, he put on such a good front, and he said, the only reason he is there is because of those kids. and he swore to me that was the only thing that was going on. >> everybody in town knew they were a couple. >> i still don't want to believe that. i have lost two brothers, i have lost two brothers, not one. >> i just can't believe that these people think that they have a right to judge me, do i judge them? who they live with? who they sleep with?

>> did you ever have a moment where you thought, i'm trespassing on my brother's life? >> my brother is gone. he is no longer his life. i do not feel that way. trespassing? no. never looked at it that way. >> by this time, family relationships were very sour. >> yes they were. >> because what? they knew you suspected her? >> well they knew that i couldn't accept the fact that things happened the way they did, it was just an accident, i couldn't except that. >> which is why since the mounties did not seem to interested, they took their suspicions to a police force closer to home. >> i went to pennsylvania state police, and they intern -- and they detective there, he related to the mounties in canada. >> it was --

dean who -- right after the shooting, and dean who heard that -- investigators went out to the very spot with the best shot, mark and conducted a reenactment. the results, inconclusive. it was possible at least that a -- mary beth could have mistaken mark there. though of course, another conclusion was also possible. by this time, with some help from the family, pennsylvania media had gotten wind of his death, and -- local gossip feasted on what was a juicy story, accident, or not? >> it would be pretty hard to mistake a human for a bear. >> mary beth, she kept her mouth shut, at least in public. the, she did fight hard eventually successfully to pry the very successful insurance money from -- first refused to pay. she started competing again, in local shooting contests. and, when it came to the kids, mary beth claimed the family

never asked to see -- lee told us she prevented any contact with the grandchildren of his. >> and, you lost two grand children. >> yes, it is that, it is a sad situation. >> then, finally on the one year anniversary of his death, mary beth called the local station -- to talk about a bench she put on her property. >> what was -- candles here, also what is this for? >> it is a memorial to, mark my husband, for the children, because mark was cremated. >> -- i love my husband very much, and he loved me. >> what do you think he would say about some of this information that is going, and the rumor? >> he wouldn't be happy at all. >> what do you see in your future? >> it is unclear at this, time i live day today. >> as unclear as the result of

the mounties -- was, still, local cops requested the mounties were trying to put a case together, and by september 2007, the pennsylvania cops had dug up, enough mostly material from mary beth path to lure two mounties down to the u.s.. >> they were surprised that she did have a troubled past, and a lot of the things i did not know about. >> it was for example an incident back in 1992, mary beth was convicted of assault in a day of -- the mounties accepted a stack of investigative material from investigators. >> they would take that back, and they determined what would be the proper charge to charge her with. >> still, months went by, as mary beth awaited her fate. >> it has taken quite a toll on her to know that his family feels she is totally and

completely irresponsible for his death. >> then in 2008, the news, the mounties were filing charges. she fought the extradition for 12 years, but, in may 2010, almost four years after she shot what wasn't a bear, it was decided. mary beth harshbarger would go on trial, in newfoundland, where a very curious -- on the way to justice. >> coming up. mary beth's remarkable memory. >> she knew the numbers off the top of her head. >> it seems a little -- >> it did raise eyebrows. >> when dateline continues. line continues your worst allergy symptoms including nasal congestion, without knocking you out. feel the clarity and make today the most wonderful time of the year. claritin-d. your best defense against erosion and cavities is strong enamel- nothing beats it. new pronamel active shield

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tell your doctor if you have a parasitic infection. may cause headache, injection site reactions, back pain, and fatigue. ask your asthma specialist about a nunormal with nucala. >> the summer of 2010, quote towards an early autumn here in newfoundland. mary beth west by now 45 years old, she had been in the local jail awaiting trial for almost five, months but her live in boyfriend and -- the only family member or, side supervised a babysitter watching on the case back in pennsylvania. >> it has been almost exactly for your since mary beth shot and killed her husband mark. >> mary beth's story had by then agenda quite a lot of public opinion one way or the other. the question that drove the debate seemed difficult to

answer, was it a simple hunting accident, or did mary beth, a competition level sharpshooter, put that in her husband's chest on purpose? >> and this was a case that raised a lot of questions for people. they would ask themselves what if? >> so who covered the story and the trial for the canadian press. >> for people who believe may bat, this was a horrible tragic accident. and, for people who don't believe, her they would say, if this was deliberate, how would you ever prove it? >> that is just the thing. for all the public, chatter murder was never on the table. the mounties did not allege murder. it was not the charge against mary beth harshbarger. even though, as -- complained about the media. >> they were reporting on this as if it were a murder charge, or manslaughter charge. >> when at the actual charge

was criminal negligence causing death, a big, difference a very big difference. and -- >> it was like there was a disconnect in some way between the charges, and in charge of public opinion. >> or the criminal, code there is no allegation of evil intent. >> yes, really, agreed attorney -- >> in the criminal negligence charge, it was -- the charge in the simplest terms, that mary beth was criminally irresponsible when she squeezed the trigger and the dark that awful night. trigger and the dark that awful night. in fact, a maximum life sentence. it was big news, where mary beth in-laws made their somber presence known. but the pilgrimage to the lonely brush where mary beth's bullet found her mark. and went on september 13th, 2010, four years to the week after the incident in the brush,

mary brooks was led into the courthouse trial. in fact, the public fascination with a case was significant intense, that her attorney advised her to be tried by a judge alone. >> oh it was foolish to bring us to a jury. >> why do you say that? >> i was afraid a jury might think okay, she's an american, she did not intend to kill. >> so in front of a judge with no cameras, no jury. the hunting guide recalled the fateful moment. >> i said what did you she? at >> she said, i shot at a bear. did i get him? i said no, you got mark. >> the mounties told weather inconclusive recreation about the twilight in the brush, the tall grass which mary beth claims she saw bear. >> it was very rugged terrain, there was a lot of tree stumps and fallen trees. very poor footing, as i recall. >> and as you entered the scene of or, the grass was fairly tall, as he went in it got taller. >> the star witness was mary

beth herself, the audiotape version. that is the recorded story to tell the mounties right after shooting her husband. >> it was a low to the ground, about this big and black, rounded at the back, the head of a bear. >> do you now know what it was you fired at? >> yes. >> so it wasn't? >> i did not see in the scope, i do not see with the eye. i did not see him at all. but he is dead. >> some evidence mary beth's in believed to be particularly incriminating. during her chat with the mounties, mary beth was asked if there was life insurance. >> yes, from both of us. i don't know what that is worth, probably a year's pay, 60,000? we have one through new york life, that is worth 100,000. and then we've got some from state farm in may, worth

500,000. >> it big, brand, new life insurance policy on mark. listen to what happens when the policeman asked this, apparently horrified, heartbroken woman for details. >> would you be able to provide me -- i -- i don't expect you to do it now, but phone numbers? >> i could give it to you now, i think. state farm is, area code 570, 836 -- >> do you know new york? >> my representative is a good friend, her number is 500 7836 -- >> she knew the numbers off the top of her head. >> seems a little weird? >> i would have to look at the numbers. it did raise eyebrows. >> as for the harshbarger's allegations that mary beth was a danger, sloughs candidate mark might have feared for his own safety, those allegations did not make it into the trial because, the crown attorney did not delay even for a minute that mary beth intended to kill

her husband. so for the prosecution, the harshbarger's accusations were irrelevant, and the case was about criminal carelessness only. >> look at the evidence the prosecution did introduce, the points which were stressed where that mary beth harshbarger is an experienced hunter. she described herself as a good shot. and yet that night, she fired on a target she had not identified. >> and mary beth's defense? one thing the owner of the hunting lodge says, maybe mark did look like a bear that night. >> he was dressed in these navy blue coveralls, two, three-day beard, real dark, real dark complexion. >> how many bears you estimate you've seen in the wild? >> maybe a couple hundred. >> describe how they move. >> they'll stand on the hind legs, sniff and sniff. they probably walked toward you a bit, they will go from one side to the next. >> he was walking in a rolling motion, downhill, watching his

step in diminishing light. he unknowingly exhibited the characteristics of a there. >> for the harshbarger family, the trial was not easy. >> i wanted and waited for four years. it came with a lot of mixed emotions in that courtroom. >> but then the judge adjourned the case for a week to ruminate about his verdict. a criminal negligence conviction sent mary beth to prison for years, possibly even for life. the what would it be? >> coming up. >> the verdict. >> she was visibly shaking, waiting for the judge, trembling, she was just trembling. >> when dateline continues. hen dateline continues it's down with rybelsus®. my doctor told me rybelsus® lowered a1c better than a leading branded pill

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say the harshbarger family was satisfied with canadian case against her in law, mary beth. they believed mary beth committed murder when she shot mark harshbarger, and claimed she thought he was a bear. still, criminal negligence causing death, the actual charge against mary beth could bring a long sentence, even life in prison. and october 1st, 2010, four years after the shooting, justice was about to be served. again. a very nervous mary beth was led into the courtroom in grand falls, watched by su bailey,

then with the canadian news press agency. >> she was visibly shaking, waiting for the judge. >> trembling? >> just shaking. >> mary beth's attorney had the jitters as well. >> i was nervous. it was a cliff-hanger. that kept us all in suspense for the bulk of his decision. >> it suspense because the judge read from a 35-page decision he had written. it went on for quite some time. >> what she shot at was what she hit. >> and finally -- >> i think about halfway through page 30 of the 35-page decision, he showed his hand. >> people cannot always act perfectly, and even when people act reasonably, accidents unfortunately can occur. the charge of criminal negligence against mrs. harshbarger is dismissed. >> and that was that. not guilty of any crime at all, mary beth harshbarger was free to go. >> she burst into tears, and was let out.

and you can hear her sobbing as she was taken into the back room. >> must be great relief? i'm just glad for my client. that was a lot of work, and it turned out they don't always turn out. >> mary beth left the courthouse with returning, and in the part of pennsylvania, very next day, free to return to her kids and mary and her lovely big house, porsche, hummer, and what was left of the 600,000 dollar plus insurance settlement. and furious relatives. >> she knows what she did. and in my opinion, she killed mark intentionally. she is getting away with murder. >> it was unbelievable that they let her off with no consequences, no penalty whatsoever. >> are you happy, miss mary beth? >> and mary beth? expected a sunny reception to return home to her big farmhouse. but there was a bit of a shake up back of the homestead. mary had run off with the

babysitter, they moved out and got married. you might wonder what mary beth thought about it all. the shooting, the in laws, the accusations. the trial, barry. well of course, we did as well. >> we met with mary beth as she went about rebuilding life with the kids after spending all of those months in jail awaiting trial. she told us she avoids contact with the harshbarger's now, and for that matter, just about everybody in the towns surrounding her, where the gossip turns as usual. we made a date for an on camera interview so she could tell her side of the story, and then as the date approached, she changed her mind. won't do it, she said. don't care what anybody thinks about me, especially the harshbarger's. who are now only left with memories. >> the only thing we have left to remind us of mark's family pictures and of course, those two grandchildren, mark's children. >> lee harshbarger walked the

forest he taught his son to love, and that is sun so loved. >> had a favor, saying that was another fine day on the field. that was very, very rewarding. >> and mary beth? probably the gift she sent her attorney is this heartfelt comment as we will get. >> well, she sent me a little token of her appreciation. a bumper sticker that read it is as bad as it gets, and they are out to get you. thought that was pretty fitting. >> that is all for this edition of dateline. i'm andrea canning, thank you for watching. yo for watching >> hello, i'm andrea canning. and this is dateline. >> a beautiful woman, at the heart of a generati o