Ex-Husband’s Killing Ruled Self-Defense : Justice system: After woman describes years of abuse, county prosecutors decide no charges will be filed in La Habra shooting as man tried to attack her.

A Rancho Cucamonga woman who fatally shot her ex-husband as he attempted to assault her will not be charged in the killing because she fired in self-defense, authorities announced Wednesday.

Annette M. Burgin, 32, spent Wednesday afternoon with Orange County prosecutors, describing the years of abuse that she and her two young sons suffered at the hands of her ex-husband, her attorney said.

After questioning the distraught woman, Deputy Dist. Atty. Lewis Rosenblum said he was “satisfied” that she shot James A. Burgin, 34, because she feared for her life.

“After getting her side of the story, and after viewing other evidence . . . which included court records that painted the violent past of the (ex-husband) . . . it appears that there was lawful self-defense,” Rosenblum said.

Burgin could not be reached for comment Wednesday, but her attorney, E. Bonnie Marshall said, “relief doesn’t quite describe” how her client felt when told she would not be charged.

“I think justice really and truly was done today,” Marshall said. “This strong woman has for several years put up with various types of abuse from Mr. Burgin. She never made any threat toward this man--it was quite the opposite for a number of years.”

The hardest task now for Annette Burgin, Marshall said, is to tell her sons, ages 3 and 6, that their father is dead. Both boys witnessed the shooting last Sunday, she said, but neither fully understood what actually happened.

According to witnesses, James Burgin, a drywall worker from Corona, was waiting for his ex-wife to drop off the boys at his sister’s home in La Habra for a scheduled visitation. When Annette Burgin arrived, her former husband crept from behind a hedge up to her van and began shouting and smashing the window with his fists, witnesses told police.

James Burgin broke the window and apparently was in the process of grabbing his ex-wife when she pulled out a gun, which had been hidden in the van, and shot him, police said. The woman drove away with her two sons to a stranger’s home a few blocks away and asked for help, saying she shot someone, police said.

The fatal shooting was a tragic ending to a nine-year relationship that had been marred by violence, according to relatives who said they had witnessed James Burgin physically abusing his wife at various times over the years.

Court records showed that Annette Burgin obtained three restraining orders against her ex-husband because of his violent tendencies. James Burgin defied those orders many times over, his relatives said.