Hunter Acquitted in Killing of Woman Mistaken for Deer

A hunter who mistook a woman for a deer was found innocent of manslaughter Wednesday in a case that stirred bitter debate about the responsibilities of hunters.

Donald Rogerson, 47, a supermarket produce manager, was acquitted after nine hours of deliberations by a Penobscot County Superior Court jury. Conviction could have brought a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.

Rogerson was charged in the death of Karen Wood, a 37-year-old mother of year-old twin girls. She was shot once in the chest on Nov. 15, 1988, while standing about 130 feet behind her house in suburban Hermon.

Members of Rogerson’s family jumped up and hugged each other after the verdict was announced. Karen Wood’s husband, Kevin, walked out in silence.

“I’m very overwhelmed at this time,” Rogerson said. “I hope and pray the Lord will give Mr. Wood the strength he has given me through this whole ordeal.”

Wood later said he was “stunned” by the verdict. “I’m shocked that at least one of the 12 jury members couldn’t, after hearing all of the evidence, come to the conclusion that Donald Rogerson was guilty,” he said.

Rogerson, the lone defense witness, testified Tuesday that he saw a deer through the scope of his rifle and fired once. He said he saw what he thought was the white underside of a deer’s tail and fired again.

Karen Wood was wearing white mittens.

The case prompted an emotional debate in a state where 216,476 people bought hunting licenses last year and 30,260 deer were taken.

Some people suggested that Karen Wood was at fault for wearing the mittens during hunting season. They hinted that because she was “from away”--the Wood family had moved to Maine from Iowa four months earlier--she was ignorant of the Maine hunting tradition.