A woman has admitted shooting her husband in the heart with an air rifle.
Waitakere District Court heard the couple had been arguing, as their relationship had been under strain since the death of their son several months earlier.
Brent Dudley spent days in hospital after the incident involving his wife Mona last December, but the pellet cannot be removed from his heart.
According to court documents, their relationship of 20 years has deteriorated since their son Stephen died at a school rugby practice in June last year.
He had an undiagnosed heart condition that left him vulnerable in times of stress.
Mona Dudley will be sentenced next week.
