PORT ANGELES — A Forks woman who allegedly knew she was shooting her husband after mistaking him for a vehicle prowler had a $500,000 bail set Thursday pending the expected filing of charges Monday in Clallam County Superior Court.
Judge Brent Basden set bail after finding probable cause that Kay Ann Beebe, 66, committed second-degree attempted murder-domestic violence, first-degree assault-domestic violence and reckless endangerment.
Beebe allegedly fired 13 rounds from her pink and black 9 mm Glock semiautomatic pistol, hitting David E. Beebe, 69, with a single bullet outside his home and causing what medics said was a “through-and-through” wound to his lower leg, according to the probable cause statement.
Beebe remained in serious condition Thursday in the intensive care unit at the University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle, a hospital spokesperson said.
Two of the shots hit a next-door-neighbor’s residence, one embedding in the siding of the home, the other going through a window and bouncing off furniture, according to the statement, written by Sheriff’s Detective Brandon Stoppani. The residents were sleeping at the time.
Kay Beebe changed her account of the incident three times, according to the probable cause statement.
She said while at the hospital emergency room that before she called 9-1-1, she heard gunshots going off just outside of her house and that her husband said someone was shooting at him, according to the statement.
Later Monday, after her gun and shell casings were recovered from the ground outside the home, she said in a recorded interview that she retrieved the pistol from her vehicle and fired the shots, believing someone was breaking into her husband’s truck.
Then she said she did not know the person she was shooting at was her husband until after the first shot, but once she did, she continued shooting anyway.
“I remember seeing him and then it was like, I just, I just kind of went blank, and I just, and I just closed my eyes and kept pulling the trigger,” she said.
“I just snapped.”
The Beebes divorced in 1997, according to court files. Kay Beebe told deputies they had been remarried for more than 20 years and that they were having financial problems.
David Beebe told deputies he was shot while stepping up into his Peterbilt log truck outside his three-bedroom residence in the 1400 block of Calawah Way east of Forks.
He said he heard gunshots, saw a gunflash and laid on the ground, unable to see the shooter. His truck was struck multiple times.
Beebe said the first person he saw was his wife, standing “in the same place the person was shooting from,” Stoppani said in the probable cause statement.
The pistol was located under Beebe’s truck.
“He was sure that Kay would not shoot him,” Stoppani said in the statement.
Kay Beebe had been held on $20,000 bail following her arrest Monday.
Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Matthew Roberson, arguing for $500,000 bail, said Beebe admitted to firing 11 of the 13 shots at her husband from 50 feet away and quoted her saying she snapped due to financial strains and stress.
“The consequences of the alleged actions could have been a lot worse,” Roberson said. “The ‘I snapped’ raises some concern that the stresses, the finances and stresses of the situation, I think, make it more likely for future violent outbursts.”
Harry Gasnick of Clallam Public Defender said Beebe is a longtime county resident.
“The allegations, if there is any merit to them, suggest a circumstance that is a problematic circumstance that is limited to one very specific individual,” Gasnick said.
“All indications suggest the lady would abide by a no-contact order and not violate any conditions of release.”
In setting bail, Basden said he was considering the likely danger of Beebe committing a violent crime.
“Although they are just allegations at this point, the indications are that Ms. Beebe indicated that she just snapped in response to a stressful situation, and so the court does have concerns at this point with the danger that she presents to the community.”
Beebe’s conditions of release include surrendering her concealed pistol license and not possessing firearms.
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Senior Staff Writer Paul Gottlieb can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 55650, or at pgottlieb@peninsuladailynews.com.
