Melissa Charbonneau's Father Recalls Deadly Night, Five Months Ago
Reporting
Christina Hager MANCHESTER, N.H. (WBZ) ―
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Melissa Charbonneau
WBZ
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Five months after he witnesses his daughter getting gunned down by her estranged husband, John Cantin is on a mission to save others from the same fate.
It was October 22. Melissa Charbonneau and her father went to pick up some belongings from her home in Manchester, New Hampshire. Her estranged husband, who was waiting inside, suddenly shot and killed her.
"I stooped way over to grab her," recalled Cantin. "I was probably within an inch when I got popped in the back. The noise, the pain, the kick all at once. It's like you don't even know what the hell is going on."
Jonathan Charbonneau then turned the gun on himself.
Cantin says stiffer domestic violence penalties would likely have saves both lives that night.
Two days before that incident, Jonathan Charbonneau had been arrested for allegedly trying to strangle his wife to the point where she lost consciousness. It was only a misdemeanor charge.
"Her husband was out on a $30 bail. He was out on the streets right away," said Cantin, who is now asking New Hampshire lawmakers to classify strangulation as a felony.
Domestic violence experts say it's a crime that often leads to murder.
"They use it as a means of control and so there are other people, victims out there that are going through this over and over again," said Cantin. He plans to tell his story to state legislators in Concord, New Hampshire next week.
"I feel I shouldn't have even gotten out of that house. I should have died there as well," Cantin said. "There must be a reason why I'm here. I'm lucky to be here just talking about it, so I'm going to talk for Melissa, because she didn't just die for nothing."
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