Wife 'mistook husband for bear'

An American woman who says she shot and killed her husband because she thought he was a bear has gone on trial in Canada.

Mary Beth Harshbarger became hysterical after the shooting, hunting guide Lambert Greene told the court told the trial in Grand Falls-Windsor, Newfoundland.

Mrs Harshbarger told authorities that she mistook her 42-year-old husband for a bear while the two were hunting in Newfoundland in 2006. She has pleaded not guilty.

Canadian officials have charged her with criminal negligence causing death. They say it was too dark to fire a gun safely.

If convicted, the 45-year-old housewife from Pennsylvania faces four years to life in prison.