BENNINGTON, Vt. (AP) – A former Shaftsbury man accused of killing his wife might have shot her because a seizure kept him from recognizing her and he felt she was an intruder, a doctor said.
Stephen Bolesky, 63, told a psychiatrist he had suffered blackouts prior to the July 10 shooting death of Constance Oxley, 59, at their Shaftsbury home, said psychiatrist Margaret Bolton.
Bolesky also told doctors he’d walked around his home in the days before his wife died looking for an intruder.
Dr. Naomi Black wrote in a report. Those details suggested he experienced a seizure when his wife was killed, Black wrote.
Bolesky “did not recognize the stranger in his bed,” Black said in her report. “He reached for his gun as he had done several days previously while searching for an intruder in his house and shot the intruder in his bed.”
Bolesky is scheduled to go on trial July 16 in Bennington.
Defense attorney Brian Marthage has said Bolesky’s health will be part of his defense. Bolesky had brain surgery to remove a tumor in January 2006 and later received radiation treatments to remove any remaining cancer cells.
Bolton said she doubted Bolesky’s actions were influenced by a seizure. Bolton said it was unlikely Bolesky could have gotten the gun, shot his wife and then called 911.
The day after the shooting Bolesky checked himself in to Southern Vermont Medical Center in Bennington. After his arrest, Bolesky was transferred to the Vermont State Hospital in Waterbury.
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