Dr. Phil: Woman Shoots And Kills Her Abuser
Dr. Phil talked to a woman Trichele over video on his show. Trichele shot and killed her abuser after years of abuse at his hands. Trichele was joining Dr. Phil over video because she had ankle bracelets to make sure she didn’t go further than 20 miles away from her home.

Dr. Phil talked to Trichele, who shot and killed her abuser husband during an argument one night. She talked about what happened and why she stayed. (Dirk Ercken / Shutterstock.com)
Trichele was actually the one who called 911 when she shot her husband. Trichele says she never meant to kill her husband, she just meant to graze him in the leg like she’s seen in crime TV shows.
Dr. Phil: Killing Her Abuser
Trichele says that night, she told her husband she wished he was dead. He went and took out a gun and told her to go ahead and do it. Trichele was afraid, because the abuse had gotten to the point that their fights would escalate to her getting killed. She picked up the gun and emptied the whole clip into the closet door.
He reloaded the gun and told her he could shoot her now and say it’s self-defense and never go to jail. Ultimately, they wrestled over the gun and she got it away from him. He went to go his gun, so Trichele fired at him. He charged at her and she fired three times total. It was the last shot she thought killed him.
Dr. Phil: Why Did She Stay?
Trichele has been charged with first degree murder. She said she firmly believes if she hadn’t killed him he would’ve killed her. He had started bringing guns into their arguments, lying them around while they argued. Trichele said her friends told her to leave, but she didn’t think he would actually hurt her.
Trichele said she stayed with him because she loved him and they ran a business together. She said he was her best friend. When he was in a good mood, he was a great guy. But he carried a lot of stress and Trichele said anything could set him off. She was the target for his rage.
Trichele also said she always thought she’d end up in the morgue and he’d be the one telling his story.
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