THIS is the house of horror where Preston nurse Helen Cummings shot dead her wayward husband in a crime that has shocked the nation.

This week her distraught family breathed a sigh of some relief when they heard the news she is to escape the death penalty and will instead face a charge of second degree murder.

That charge carries a maximum punishment of life imprisonment.

Last week the Citizen highlighted the wave of sympathy for Helen, in her home town in Florida.

Her god-fearing friends and neighbours reckoned she was right to blast her adulterous husband.

And that sympathy has spread back to her home town of Preston.

An amazing reaction followed our article.

Jean Hanson from Lea was relieved the electrocution threat was over but demanded that Helen, who has a six-month old son, should be cleared altogether. She said: "She'd just given birth and to see the pictures of her husband having an affair must have been terrible."

John Smith of Hanbury Street, Preston, agreed. He said: "Who knows how she felt when she found her husband had been with another woman?"

Friends of Helen have told the Citizen they have nothing but praise for the 32-year-old. Pamela Lawrenson, from Deepdale, said: "She's really caring, lovely and quiet. I was shocked when I heard. I couldn't believe it." A nurse who worked with her but wanted to remain anonymous said: "Helen is a very nice, normal girl, very kind and fun-loving. She thought her life was complete. No wonder she cracked.

"She must've loved her husband so much she was driven to it. I understand how angry and upset she'd have been. I'd have done the same."

However, Jacqui James blamed the tragedy on the accessibility of firearms in America. She said: "A gun was around and it was too easy to use. The crime is that of a country not the person alone, and America must stand judgement on this."

Helen Cummings' American dream began when she trained as a midwife at Sharoe Green Hospital from 1987-1990.

In her last year she travelled to sunny Fort Lauderdale to take up a placement at Holy Cross Hospital.

She enjoyed it so much she decided to stay. She fell in love with fellow nurse Tyler and married him.

Her shocked parents Terence and Marion Billington face an agonising wait on their daughter's future from their home on Victoria Road, Fulwood.

Helen is expected to appear in a Fort Lauderdale court later this week.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.