COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) — Prosecutors will not charge a man who shot and killed his mother's ex-husband in an apparent effort to protect her.
The Colorado Springs Gazette reports that the district attorney's office determined 36-year-old Joseph Lamoureux II was killed March 17 in an act of self-defense.
Investigators say Lamoureux choked his ex-wife into unconsciousness and severely injured her. The woman's son, then 19, heard her screaming and heard Lamoureux repeatedly say he was going to kill her.
The son retrieved a shotgun and went to the bedroom where Lamoureux was choking and hitting his mother. Lamoureux stepped toward him, and the son fired once.
Colorado law allows a person to use physical force to defend themselves or others.
Lamoureux was a longtime Colorado Springs resident who was born in Casper, Wyoming.
