By Emily Hagedorn
ehagedorn@courier-journal.com
In a 911 call Tuesday night, a Bullitt County woman charged with murdering her husband said she “accidentally shot” him after the couple got into a “scuffle.”
Police arrested Betty Jane Harder Tuesday; they say she killed her husband Ross Andrew Harder, 52, with a small handgun in a domestic dispute.
The Bullitt 911 Center released the tape of the call Thursday.
“What were you two fighting about?” the dispatcher asked.
“I don’t know,” said Betty Harder, 44. “Just we haven’t been getting along here lately.”
“OK. And where did the gun come from?”
“I bought it.”
“OK. Well why was the gun out when you were fighting?”
“It was in my hands.”
“Why were you holding it? Ma’am?”
“I’m so sorry,” she said.
Ross Harder died from a gunshot wound to the head in the kitchen of the couples’ home in the 100 block of South Shore Drive off Beech Grove Road, Shepherdsville Police Capt. Ken Bernardi said.
During her 911 call, Betty Harder told the dispatcher two of her children were home.
Bernardi said the couple’s two youngest children were in a different room and did not witness the shooting. According to court records, the couple’s sons are 14, 19 and 21 years old. The children have been released to their grandparents, Bernardi said.
The couple has a history of domestic abuse, according to police and court records.
Betty Harder filed for and was granted a domestic violence protection order in 2001 after Ross Harder shoved and pushed his wife and abused one of his children, according to one court filing.
“He won’t help the oldest child with homework,” Betty Harder wrote. “Husband hit the oldest child with a water hose.”
The couple had each been charged with fourth-degree assault, a Class A misdemeanor, after an altercation March 20, 2000.
The couple was “arguing over breaking up,” and the abuse left red marks on Betty Harder’s face, according to one police report. Ross Harder, who had left the scene before police arrived and was confronted at a gas station on Ky. 44 East, told police that she had also assaulted him.
The charges were deferred after the couple was assessed for anger issues and completed counseling in December 2000, records showed.
The Bullitt 911 Center also received a domestic violence call to the address in 2005, Bernardi said. The only details he had about the call were that the altercation didn’t result in injuries or arrests.
Betty Harder is being held at the Bullitt County Detention Center in lieu of a $1 million cash bond. A probable cause hearing is scheduled for Tuesday.
The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information can call 957-1001, 921-1000 or the anonymous tip line at 215-1588.
Reporter Emily Hagedorn can be reached at (502) 582-7086.
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