Double Shooting Suspect In Custody

Tuesday, April 10th 2007, 8:42 am

By: News On 6

A desperate Coweta family is praying for the best. A man is in jail after admitting he shot his stepdaughter and her grandmother with a shotgun. The family tragedy has relatives in a state of shock as they hope both women will survive. They believe the grandmother will pull through, but News On 6 crime reporter Lori Fullbright reports things don't look good for the 19-year-old woman.

Myrtle Ann Henson is nearly inconsolable as she worries whether her daughter and mother will live and can't fathom why her husband could do such a terrible thing. Henson's daughter, Angie Thompson, was spending the night with her grandparents Monday night and had asked her stepfather to bring over her makeup. Reports say Michael Henson took the makeup, handed it to Thompson, then grabbed a loaded 12 gauge shotgun from his truck and fired it at her.

"She turned, and he shot her again,â€ said Randy Honeycutt, a relative of the victims. â€œMy stepmother, Patricia, came out to see what was going on, and he shot her one time. My dad came to the door to see what was going on. He realized, slammed the door and called police."

â€œThe fact this was such close range from where the suspect was standing to where the victim was standing, the first gunshot struck the 19-year-old female in the back. The second one amputated her left hand," said Coweta Police Lt. Donnie Krumsiek.

The shot in the back damaged Thompsonâ€™s liver and kidneys and caused her to lose 24 pints of blood. She's now on life support. Her grandmother, Patricia Honeycutt, was hit in the side and is now stable.

"I see them there, to understand how it happened is still unbelievable,â€ said Honeycutt. â€œWe're all in shock, to be very honest."

Within four minutes of the 911 calls, police arrested Henson in a traffic stop, the loaded shotgun still with him. Police say he'd been drinking and a breathalyzer showed him at twice the legal limit. Reports show he confessed and told police he was in love with his stepdaughter and got angry when she didn't come to dinner. Henson also told police he'd been having an affair with his stepdaughter, but the family strongly denies that. He'd been married to her mother for 11 years. The family says he had shown a history of violence, and they should've acted sooner when they saw the signs. Police say Henson has no previous convictions for violence, but now faces at least a dozen charges.

A fund in the name of Angie Thompson has been set up to help the family at Bank First in Coweta.