Estimated read time: 10-11 minutes
ROSE, Idaho — To many of her neighbors, 85-year-old Christine Jenneiahn is known for her friendly and welcoming demeanor. She's the kind of person known for dropping off cookies to local law enforcement.
But over the past few weeks, the Bingham County woman has also received national attention, after successfully fighting off an armed home invader on March 13.
Recently, the 47-page deputy report and photos of the harrowing situation were released after a public records request from EastIdahoNews.com.
The documents detail how a masked, armed man broke into her home after midnight, robbed and threatened her. She recalled to deputies how scared the incident made her. Despite that, she killed the attacker, survived multiple gunshots wounds and lived to tell what happened.
Here's how deputies found Jenneiahn, and what she told them happened that night.
Police arrive at the scene
Deputies learned about the home invasion via a 911 phone call from Jenneiahn about 10 hours after her initial assault.
Detectives from the Bingham County Sheriff's Office, Blackfoot Police Department and Shelley Police Department rushed to her home on 134 W. 600 North around 12:15 p.m.
Standing in the entryway of the home was her disabled adult son, David.
Inside, officers found Jenneiahn in her nightgown, lying in a "pool of blood" but alive on the living room floor. She was handcuffed to a chair and had a phone in her hand. She had a cut to the top of her head and multiple gunshot wounds.
But Jenneiahn was "conscious and alert."
In the kitchen was the body of Derek Condon, 39, of Blackfoot — the man deputies say had broken into her home.
Jenneiahn tells her story to deputies
Jenneiahn was taken by ambulance to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center in Idaho Falls. Deputies had the chance to ask her what happened. She appeared to be in a severe amount of pain and was struggling to speak.
David was the only other person in the house before Condon broke in around 2 a.m. that morning.
The ordeal lasted a half-hour. Jenneiahn knew this because of a grandfather clock she had in her home.
Jenneiahn told deputies she was woken up by a man in a black mask in her bedroom. He was pointing a gun and flashlight at her. She heard, "Show me your hands. Give me your hands," the report said. The man — who would eventually be identified as Condon — immediately snapped handcuffs on her.
She asked him what this was for, and he said she should know.
She said, "That's weird," and Condon took her into the living room. Throughout the incident, Jenneiahn did not recognize who the man was because of the mask, and she did not recognize his voice.
At one point, she said he put a hood over her head. But she kept coughing because she has asthma, and he took it off of her.
Jenneiahn said he took a large kitchen chair that swivels and is heavy, then handcuffed her to that.
Condon asked where the valuables were, and she told him they didn't have much. He then put a gun to her head, she said. She told Condon there were two safes downstairs.
He went downstairs multiple times and rummaged through several rooms.
Eventually, Condon discovered David was in the home, and he got angry at her for not telling him. He made multiple threats and told her that he "would kill her," according to the report.
'Now or never'
During the incident, Condon told her to "shut up — don't say anything," the report said. Jenneiahn said Condon hit her on the top of the head with a pistol, and she wasn't sure what she had done to deserve that.
He went downstairs again at one point.
Jenneiahn said she decided to get her gun from her bedroom after she was sitting in the living room for a while. According to the report, she thought, "This is ridiculous. … Things go through your mind. What can you do?"
She was still handcuffed to the chair. She said it was heavy, but she pulled the chair with her to her bedroom, and retrieved her .357 Magnum revolver from under her pillow. She went back to the living room and hid her gun between the armrest and cushion of a couch next to where she was sitting. She waited to see what Condon would do next.
Condon came back and continued to threaten to kill her.
Finally, Jenneiahn decided it was "now or never."
At this point in her story, Jenneiahn told deputies she had never shot anyone in her life, that she was sorry and wasn't that kind of person, the report said.
She added, she had helped an Olympic shooting team for more than 20 years. She said that she is a very "nice old lady" but "you can only push somebody so far."
Fearing for her life, and the fact Condon had aimed his gun at her, she felt she had no choice but to shoot him. She hit him with both her shots.
Once she did, Condon returned fire and she said "he just let her have it and shot her." Condon emptied a 9 mm Beretta pistol, hitting her multiple times in her abdomen, leg, arm and chest.
He then went into the kitchen and fell down — mortally wounded.
Jenneiahn said she sat on the couch in the living room and was going "in and out." She eventually moved to the floor where she remained for about 10 hours.
She was ultimately able to call 911 after her son came upstairs and gave her a phone.
Law enforcement asked her if she remembered getting shot. She said, "Oh yeah, that hurt." She said she thought she was "a goner."
David's story
Law enforcement interviewed David, Jenneiahn's son. They did not learn much except that he was hurt in a vehicle crash years ago and dealt with chronic headaches.
That night, he said he was downstairs in his room, reading, with the fan on.
Later, after the incident, he came upstairs and saw his mom on the ground. He asked his mom what was going on.
He told deputies his mom said she was shot. He asked her who shot her, and she said she didn't know.
Condon's family members speak to law enforcement
Condon's relatives told deputies he had some mental health issues and PTSD from the time he served in the U.S. Marine Corps. They said he had been struggling more lately and had stopped taking medication.
Deputies talked with Condon's wife on March 13, and she said she was worried about him. A deputy asked why. She said the previous day, Condon had told her that he was going to go shooting with his nephew.
His wife said that she had not heard from Condon or seen him, and she was getting worried since he did not answer any texts or calls. Investigators found his nephew was never picked up to go shooting.
She said she didn't know for sure what he was wearing when he left but most likely boots and a camouflage jacket.
Deputies asked Condon's wife if it was common for him to go shooting at night, and she said it was and that he did it all the time. He normally carried a gun on him too.
She said he kept to himself, for the most part. He rarely left the house unless it was for a family activity or to go shooting, she said.
Deputies showed her a picture of Condon on the scene of the home invasion to try and identify him, and she said it was him, and she began crying.
At first, she had told deputies Condon's mental state was fine, but later revealed he had been struggling with his mental health and he had been seeing a doctor.
A relative told deputies Condon had suicidal ideation and he would "take someone he hated with him." He did not hate a lot of people, but he had a small list, according to the report.
The relative said Condon hated Jenneiahn, and "she would be on that list." He knew her from a gun club where Condon sometimes went shooting and knew her from a store she owned. The relative said Condon never liked her.
The report said Condon thought she was rude, but it did not give further details.
Law enforcement asked Jenneiahn if she knew Condon. She said yes and said that he was very quiet. She said she had no issues with him. She knew him from a shop she previously owned. She said his brother came in too.
A search warrant was conducted at Condon's house on March 14. Deputies found a large collection of firearms.
A closer look at the scene
When deputies found Condon in the kitchen, he was on the floor on his back.
A black mask was covering his face, and he was wearing a camouflage jacket and jeans, according to the report.
Condon was wearing a shoulder bag. Multiple items were found on him, including pistols, magazines, coins, silver bars, a brass black powder holder, magazine holders, a knife and a sword. Police believe the items belonged to Jenneiahn.
While emergency crews were there, they checked on Condon and could not find a pulse.
Condon's autopsy later revealed he died due to two gunshot wounds, and one of the bullets hit his heart.
Officers placed plaques over the casing and bullets found at the scene. There were several in the living room on the carpet.
Between the couch and the kitchen there was a black semi-automatic pistol — identified as a 9 mm Beretta — with the slide that was locked back and an empty magazine in the firearm, the report said.
Next to Condon was another gun — a .22 Kel-Tec — that appeared to have a silencer attached and wrapped in black electrical tape. Deputies said it looked like it had not been fired recently.
On Condon, deputies found a handcuff key, his car key and lock picks, the report said.
The Beretta was the one used by Condon to shoot Jenneiahn, and it is unclear who owned it.
In the basement of the home was a gun safe that was open and appeared to have been gone through, the report said.
Outside the house
Deputies found shoe prints in the snow outside. They followed the tracks around the property and through a field. Then, a vehicle — a white Honda CR-V — was found a mile from the house. They ran the license plate and found it was registered to Condon's wife.
A search warrant was served on the vehicle. Inside was a wallet with several IDs for Condon. There was a roll of duct tape, a money clip with $195 and a magazine loaded with .22 ammunition, which matched the magazine found in the gun found next to Condon's body, the report said. On the passenger floor board, there was a large pistol with a suppressor and attached light.
Law enforcement found a screwdriver on the ground behind the house. It appeared the screwdriver was used to force entry through the window in the backdoor. The window, which opened vertically, had small pieces of exterior trim that were broken off.
'Justifiable homicide'
Bingham County prosecuting attorney Ryan Jolley ruled Condon's death as "justifiable homicide." He told EastIdahoNews.com in a previous interview there was no indication Condon had a criminal past.
He said the fact Jenneiahn survived the encounter is "truly incredible." Jolley said her grit, determination and will to live appear to be what saved her that night.
"Had Derek Condon survived, I would be charging him with multiple felonies, including attempted murder, kidnapping, burglary, aggravated battery and grand theft," Jolley said in an incident review.
Jenneiahn continues to recover from what happened that day. EastIdahoNews.com reached out to her, but she does not wish to speak about the incident at this time.
