avoided a strike after a ballot among Unite members failed by one person to reach the minimum number of voters for it to be valid.

A spokesman for Unite said the Amnesty ballot was "just below the threshold", but declined to disclose how many staff took part in the vote or the numbers voting for or against industrial action.

Alan Scott, regional coordinating officer at Unite, said in a statement that members had "voted overwhelmingly for industrial action" and it was only the existence of the 50 per cent threshold that prevented a strike going ahead.

"The challenge on meeting the threshold was extreme because many of our members now work in offices abroad and, even with a ballot period of six weeks, many of them did not received the papersnumber of police visits and the nature of the alleged assaults was not available. Neither Izora nor Samuel have previous criminal charges, according to the North Carolina Department of Corrections database.

Izora and Samuel's son, Samuel Murchison Jr., 20, said his parents had been arguing in recent days. His mother, he said, is an amazing person.

"She is a sweet woman," Murchison said. "Everyone in town knows her and knows how wonderful she is with her kids."

Murchison indicated his mother had acted in self defense.

Izora was a contract employee at Central Carolina Hospital, according to CCH Director of Public Relations Crystal Hickman, and all vendors are required to conduct a background check on their employees prior to placement at the hospital.

"We are shocked and saddened by this incident," Hickman said