Un engrenage fatal

I too seen the movie and really liked it. I always try and look up any information on a true movie as in trying to find the real names the location, the trial etc....Here is what I have found so far. I hope this helps.

David was found guilty of first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder and first-degree assault in the 1987 shootings. He faces at least 40 years in prison before parole, and prosecutors have said they will seek the death penalty. David Guenther -- 6-foot-5, 260-pounds -- beat Pamela regularly for 15 years. Her close friends knew it. But she stayed with her husband, who was unemployed and apparently universally disliked. When she finally left David, Pamela took her two children and secretly moved in with her boss -- who later became her lover. David -- who in 1986 killed a neighbor woman and wounded her husband in a bloody quarrel on the doorstep of the Guenther home in a Denver suburb -- tried to kidnap Pamela in a doughnut shop parking lot and threatened her life repeatedly.

After she got a restraining order forcing him to leave their home so she could move back in, he forced his way into the house and held her hostage at gunpoint for four hours before surrendering to local police.

Yet, eight hours after David was arrested, he was out on $10,000 bail, charged only with burglarizing his own home -- a fact that outraged Pamela's friends and neighbors. He began stalking Pamela, who hid from him in a shelter for battered women and insisted upon -- and got -- police escorts to her supermarket job. A week after the hostage episode, David jumped out of his car in a parking lot and shot Pamela to death in front of their children. He is serving a life sentence for first-degree murder.

I teach an 8th grade health class. One of the units we do is on abuse, including domestic violence. I show this movie to my students during that unit, as they are able to see how the abuse not only affects the victim, and the lengths the abuser will go to, to achieve their goals, but the students also see how the abuse affects the children in the family. The movie also depicts how others in society (family, friends, law officials, the court systems) approach the topic of abuse/domestic violence. My students thoroughly enjoy this movie, gaining terrific insight into abuse. It is very much true-to-life, and it was as a result of this case that domestic violence laws were enacted. I highly recommend this movie for all ages.

This is the actual true story about The Guenthers in Colorado. The one review was incorrect. A 34-year-old man who contended that he shot three neighbors in self-defense was acquitted Thursday of one count of second-degree murder and two counts of assault. David Guenther, 34, of Northglenn had once based his defense on Colorado's "make my day" law, which permits the use of deadly force against intruders, but shifted to conventional self-defense for this trial. Guenther still faces trial next year for first-degree murder in the slaying of his wife -- the woman he said he was trying to protect when he shot his neighbors -- and the wounding of her male companion earlier this year. Burden of Proof A judge last year dismissed charges against Guenther in the April 19, 1986, shoot-out, citing the "make my day" law. However, the Colorado Supreme Court later ruled that the burden of proof was on the defendant and ordered Guenther to stand trial in Adams County District Court for second-degree murder and two counts of first-degree assault. Josslyn C. Volosin, 26, was killed by a shot in the heart, and her husband, Michael, 27, suffered wounds to the thigh and wrist. Robbie Wardwell, 27, was felled by a bullet in the abdomen during the shooting. Earlier that night, Michael Volosin, Wardwell and their friends, who had been partying at the Volosin home, had been rowdy and raucous in front of the Guenther house across the street. Defense attorneys argued that Guenther fired his .357 magnum pistol in self-defense. He was afraid for his life and that of his wife, Pamela, and their two children, public defender Robert Perin told the jury in closing arguments on Wednesday. The law was named for a line from a Clint Eastwood movie in which the actor muttered "make my day," apparently hoping for an opportunity to shoot a felon.

Los Angeles Times March 28, 1988, Monday, Southland Edition SECTION: Part 1; Page 16; Column 1; National Desk LENGTH: 126 words HEADLINE: MAN IN 'MAKE MY DAY' CASE CONVICTED BYLINE: By AP DATELINE: BRIGHTON, Colo. BODY:

The first man to invoke Colorado's "Make My Day" defense in a shooting has been convicted in a separate case of murdering his estranged wife and wounding her boyfriend. David Guenther, 35, was found guilty Saturday of first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder and first-degree assault in the 1987 shootings. He faces at least 40 years in prison before parole, and prosecutors have said they will seek the death penalty. The "Make My Day" law allows residents to use deadly force in their homes against intruders. Guenther's acquittal with that argument for the 1986 fatal shooting of a neighbor and wounding of two others was overturned by the state Supreme Court. But he was re-acquitted in that case with a self-defense argument.

is very believable in her role as Jessica Cochran, a woman with two children, whose husband Gary has problems with anger, which gradually escalate.

This is a true story based on what occurred in Glen Oaks, and Gary Cochran (named the "make my day shooter"), who shot a neighbor during a dispute, was apparently let off the charges due to his wife's testimony. Another review mentioned character development, but really, we do learn a bit about Jessica, that she has to work at a dead end waitress job to make ends meet. Gary Cochran apparently had some problems with employment, and we don't really see what has transpired.

We do see his rage, and Farentino is chillingly believable. The scenes where he teaches his young son to defend himself are quite upsetting.

John Spencer has a brief role as Jessica (Lee's) employer. Lee Garlington as her sympathetic friend, and Cicely Tyson, as a shelter coordinator for women who are victims. The film is primarily watchable for Ms. Lee's sympathetic performance, a woman who felt she had no options. She does not come off as the usual helpless femme fa tale that women victims are often portrayed as. Farentino also has some dark moments, and was well cast in this film. 8/10.

I have watched this movie every time it has been on TV. I find it very heartbreaking that this is more common than we realize. As adults we have the choice to stay or leave a situation, a child does not have that same option. This story is based on my husbands sister. The movie is very accurate in it's portrayal of the abuse she and her children endured. Several things were omitted in the movie, but I am not sure where they got their information. This family suffers from the loss of a sister and mother that our judicial system could not save. Hopefully this movie will open eyes and help those that suffer to find the courage and strength to escape a bad situation.