It didn’t have to end in murder.
Years of alleged abuse by her husband, retired police Sergeant Raymond Sheehan, 49, allegedly caused Barbara Sheehan, 46, to snap and kill him inside their Howard Beach home on Monday, February 18.
“I shot him! I shot him! I think he’s dead. He’s in the bathroom,” Barbara told officers of the 106th Precinct when they responded to the home at 99-08 158th Avenue, according to authorities.
The couple’s most recent altercation was on Sunday, February 16, when Raymond allegedly broke his wife’s nose over an argument about a planned Florida business trip. After he hit her, he took her to St. John’s Queens Hospital, where she was treated, according to reports.
However, the next day, Barbara fired 11 rounds into his back as he shaved, hitting major organs, according to a medical examiner.
At least one neighbor heard gunshots at around noon, but for whatever reason did not call police.
According to a witness, Barbara’s mother and sister were at the home when police hauled in the wife, clad in pajamas and slippers, to the 106th Precinct.
In addition, cops also brought a UPS driver - who ran to the scene, found Barbara surrounded by a Glock and a .38-caliber firearm and called police - in for questioning.
Raymond’s body - clad only in underwear - was found in a second-floor bathroom.
The quiet street was closed off until after 6 p.m. as the Crime Scene Unit, in which where Sheehan had served much of his 20-year career, and Medical Examiner conducted their investigations.
Afterward, several neighbors on the block said that they did not know the Sheehans very well and others in the close-knit community expressed shock.
One local resident, who did not want to give her name, called the Sheehans “very nice.”
Frank Provenzano, who lives around the corner from the tragic scene, told The Queens Courier, “Nobody knew anything. You can’t see what happens behind closed doors. It’s a tragedy. They were nice people. They got along with the neighbors.”
After being arrested, Barbara was taken by ambulance to Queens Hospital Center for a “cardiac event.”
On Tuesday, February 19, she was arraigned on charges of second-degree murder and criminal possession of a weapon in the second and the fourth degrees.
She faces 25 years to life in prison if convicted and was ordered held without bail. She will have to return to court on Thursday, February 28.
“There were all these times when she would come back here with a black eye or a cut on the head. She would cover for him and say she fell,” Barbara’s dad, Michael Henry, said in published reports.
After retiring from the NYPD, Raymond worked security for UBS Financial Services. He was very involved with Our Lady of Grace (OLG) in Howard Beach, where he worked with youth teams.
OLG, where the couple’s college-age children attended school, had no comment as of Tuesday.
I.S. 364 in Brooklyn, where Barbara worked as a secretary, could not be reached.
Ann Jawin, founder of the Center for the Women of New York (CWNY), a non-profit organization that offers resources for women, told The Queens Courier, “You can only imagine the depths of fear and despair she [Barbara] had.”
Jawin went on to say, “There is a lot of domestic violence among people in the police force, maybe because of the stress.”
But, Jawin said, the dual tragedy of the Sheehans could have been avoided.
“The emphasis is to try to help women long before the violence stage,” she explained. “They must recognize the signs and admit they are victims. Had she [Barbara] sought help, she might have avoided the situation.
If you or someone you know is the victim of abuse, call CWNY at 718-793-0672; the Allen Women’s Resource Center in Jamaica at 718-739-6200; Transition Center (Kosher facilities) at 718-520-8045; Project Oasis Safe Homes at 800-621-HOPE; Women Helping Women at 718-291-2555 or the New York City Domestic Violence Bilingual Hotline at 800-621-HOPE.
- With additional reporting by Christina Santucci and J. Alan Hamill
