PEA RIDGE -- One woman is dead and her husband has been arrested on first-degree murder charges following a shooting that occurred late Saturday in East Pea Ridge.
Constance Smith, 62, a resident of the 6100 block of Birkewood Road, was found dead in her home about 11 p.m. Saturday by Cabell County Sheriff's deputies. She had suffered a single gunshot wound to the head, Cabell Sheriff Tom McComas said.
Her husband, Harry Lee Smith, called 911 at 10:52 p.m. and said his wife had been accidentally shot. Deputies and EMS paramedics went to the home, where it took some time for Harry Lee Smith to answer the door, McComas said. Upon entry, deputies found Constance Smith's body in a den area of the residence.
"He originally told our detectives, 'it was an accident, it was an accident, it was an accident,' and gave us a chain of events that allegedly took place," McComas said. "But the totality of the circumstances and the evidence found by detectives indicate to us that this was more than an accident."
Harry Lee Smith, 66, was taken to the Sheriff's Department field office in Ona, where he was interviewed by detectives. He gave an official statement that the shooting was accidental, but he did not deny pulling the trigger of the .38-caliber revolver that was used in the shooting, McComas said. No one else appeared to be in the home at the time of the shooting, McComas said.
Smith was arrested for first-degree murder and taken to the Western Regional Jail, where he was arraigned Sunday evening by Cabell County Magistrate Mike Woelfel. He is being held without bond. Constance Smith's body was sent to the state Medical Examiner's Office for examination.
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