No trial date has been set for an Eidson, Tn., woman charged with attempting to kill her former husband, a chiropractor on Signal Mountain.
However, Criminal Court Judge Barry Steelman did agree Monday to consider a defense motion asking that he dismiss one of the two reckless endangerment charges that Tina Marie Loher currently faces.
The most serious charge against her, attempted first degree murder, would not be affected.
According to police reports, Ms. Loher and Dr. Terry Loher – from whom she is divorced – had been involved in a bitter custody dispute over their two children.
Monday, defense attorney Myrlene Marsa told the judge that the two charges cited in her motion involve two women who were in Dr. Loher’s office on July 13, 2009, when the alleged shooting occurred. Since they grow out of the same incident, she argued, they should be merged into a single charge.
Judge Steelman took the motion under advisement, saying he will review it before March 22 when Ms. Loher is next scheduled to appear in court.
During the July 2009 attack, Ms. Loher allegedly fired twice at her former husband, causing wounds that left him in critical condition. He has since recovered and now has custody of the couple’s daughters.
Ms. Loher is being held at the Hamilton County Workhouse.
According to police reports filed soon after the shooting, the attempted murder began with Ms. Loher driving her Ford Escape SUV to the Signal Mountain Chiropractic Clinic on Taft Highway.
She parked in a regular parking spot and got out of her vehicle armed with a .38-caliber Taurus pistol, officers said, leaving her two young daughters in the SUV.
Police said Ms. Loher then entered the office and confronted her husband, who was adjusting the neck of a female patient at the time.
She allegedly fired two shots, one of which hit him in the groin area.
Dr. Loher struggled with her and Ms. Loher ended up with a head injury, the report says. She was treated and released later at Erlanger Hospital.
Her ex-husband, who was 38 at the time of the incident, was flown by LifeForce helicopter to Erlanger. He had remarried and moved to Signal Mountain following his divorce, authorities indicated.