I'm working on some plot problems with a story I'm writing- and I was wondering- Could this/Would this happen (or at least be believable)- woman shoots husband, thinks she has killed him- he is, instead, taken into witness protection program- she thinks he's dead, and is told no different- would this happen? Could this happen?
2008-04-25T17:58:52Z
Icequeen- that's my question- I'm AT this point in my story-I'm trying to verify if it's a possibility before writing it this way.
2008-04-25T18:53:03Z
ADD: I think it's important that I mention that his involvement in WPP has nothing to do with the attempted murder- it has to do with his shady business dealings- that she knows nothing about.
berner mom2008-04-25T18:39:56Z
Favorite Answer
Possibly...after she shoots him, she runs out of the house in a panic, scared and wants to get away before someone sees her, but has the perfect alibi...
BUT...Why is he taken into a witness protection program? They don't do that for anyone unless there is a good reason...
It could happen IF there is some kind of twist to the story...She or he has to be involved in 'something' underhanded in order for him to be put into the witness protection plan....
Let your thoughts wonder, come up with a new twist on things....
KW
'''if she shot him, she would be arrested and put in prison'''
IF she was caught....
''there is A LOT of people who have tried to kill other people and were unsuccessful'''
But there is also MANY that have gotten away with it
''they would just get a restraining order.''''
PLEASE..this means NOTHING unless you have a cop living next door to you on a 24/7 watch...
ADD
Maybe this will help you with your ideas...work off of this with a twist to your story...
This is going to take a lot of research. I would take this in another direction other than the WPP and the lie that the husband is dead. There are a host of other things to consider when you have this kind of plot.
The WPP is only used when someone acts as a witness in a trial and is usually involved in some way. They do what is known as 'turn states evidence.' Usually this involves a trial involving organized crime.
In faking someone's death, a lot of falsified documents are involved. Death Certificate, Autopsy, Burial, Various Benefits for the survivor. My question is why would they lie anyway? A lot of professional licenses are on the line here. See?
This story does seem pretty suspenseful, but I would say, once again, steer clear of the WPP and the Lie.
Yes, in a manner of speaking. Cases just like this have happened before. The man (victim) is sequestered while they investigate. However, unless this woman is some kind of criminal syndicate head that they are building a case on, the case wouldn't drag on too long.
The Feds, the guys that run the Witness Protection program, probably would not be involved in a simple attempted murder.
It would not be "witness protection", which is where witnesses get a new identity and disappear off the radar. What you are talking about would be "protective custody" which happens frequently.
Your plot outline does sound interesting and I can see how it would work. Consider this; the husband is in protective custody while the investigation is underway. As soon as he files a complaint, she would be arrested. But if he is, say, in a coma and cannot file a complaint right now, the police would likely keep his continued breathing quiet from the main suspect as they try to gather evidence enough to stop her.
All I can tell you is this, and it's a true story: My aunt, who was a nurse, married a doctor. They lived in a small town in Michigan. One day they got raided by the feds. It turns out that he was running a very successful drug dealing operation (cocaine, before there was crack) out of the back room of their medical clinic. He was arrested. She was not because she had no idea what was going on. He agreed to testify for the government against the major players in exchange for the ability to keep his license to practice medicine. However, he was probably going to have to enter the WPP, and if he did, my aunt would have to go with him if she wanted to stay married to him, and we would never see her again. Well, he never ended up having to testify, so he didn't go into the WPP. He and my aunt stayed married for several more years, during which time he went back to school for some training, and then he did a fellowship in pulmonary medicine. During this time he put my aunt through medical school. Then she accidentally got pregnant at age 40, and they had a child. When the child was about five years old they got a divorce. I don't know where he is, but she's in the private practice of medicine, and she may as well be in the WPP, because I haven't seen her or heard from her in 15 years. It's a bizarre story, and my aunt is just as bizarre. I wish I knew more of the seedy details because I know there are lots of gaps to fill in, but I don't. The big deal to the family was her disappearing and never seeing or hearing from her again. My big deal is how she could live with herself knowing that she went to medical with money earned from her husband's successful cocaine trafficking business.
(Please allow me to qualify this by saying she is my biological aunt, and I am related to her by DNA only. I feel it necessary to make this clear for obvious reasons.)