Man shot neighbour in the back as he worked in his garden for 'telepathically raping' his wife



'Self defence': Michael Selleneit shot his neighbour Tony Pierce in the back and claimed he had 'telepathically raped' his wife

A man shot his next door neighbour because he was fed up with him repeatedly 'telepathically raping' his wife.

Michael Selleneit told police he opened fire on neighbour Tony Pierce in Centerville, Utah, in self-defence because he thought that Mr Pierce was 'telepathically threatening' to kill Mr Selleneit and his wife.

Police said Mr Pierce, 41, was shot once in the leg and once more critically in the back and the bullet has hit several organs, including the sac around his heart. His spleen has had to be removed, and he has now been upgraded to stable condition.

When he was shot, Mr Pierce was working in his garden in front of his trailer park house.

Selleneit is a convicted felon because he attempted to sexually abuse a child in 1990. In that case, he pleaded guilty by reason of insanity, but the conviction still prohibits him from owning a gun.

As a result, he is being charged with both attempted homicide and illegal possession of a weapon.

According to a probable cause statement filed with the Davis County jail, Selleneit told detectives he shot Mr Pierce in self-defence with intent to kill him.

The scene: Michael Selleneit shot his neighbour Tony Pierce in the garden outside his trailer because Selleneit thought Pierce had 'telepathically raped' his wife

Acrimonious: A fellow neighbor says that the two men had a history of arguments, and Monday's fight took place in front of Mr Pierce's house

He claimed his neighbour had been 'telepathically threatening' to kill Selleneit and his wife.

A statement from police said: 'Selleneit also claimed that Pierce had telepathically raped his wife on many occasions.'

Police found a 380 semi-automatic handgun in the Selleneit trailer home, and brought Selleneit's wife in for questioning but then released her. The gun was purchased at a pawn shop last year by Mrs Selleneit.

Neighbours: Michael Selleneit's house, pictured, looks just like the house of the man he shot, Tony Pierce and they live on the same street in Utah

The statement also mentioned that Selleneit had been making similar accusations for years and there was no validity to them.

'Centerville Police has never found any evidence to indicate that these allegations were true,' Lt Child said.

Helpful, not hurtful: Pierce ran to his neighbour Christopher Hight's (pictured) trailer when Selleneit shot him

One neighbour disagrees, saying said that it was common for Mr Pierce and Selleneit to get in arguements.

'They've had some issues where they've come out and accused [Mr Pierce] of doing that something he didnt do and had the police called,' said Christopher Hight.

'They've had police over there more than enough times to where it's if you see the police come in here it's 'Oh they're at it again',' Mr Hight said.

Mr Pierce ran over to Mr Hight's house after he had been shot and it was Mr Hight who called 911. From there, Mr Pierce was taken to University of Utah Hospital in Centerville, located just outside of Salt Lake City.



Selleneit is being charged with attempted homicide and unlawful possession of a weapon. He was convicted of