Steve E. Treece, 62, of Cedar Hill has been charged with first-degree murder for allegedly shooting and killing a 60-year-old woman believed to be his wife on Wednesday (July 11), authorities reported.
Authorities had not officially identified the woman as of this afternoon (July 12).
Treece was arrested Wednesday morning after a five-hour standoff with Jefferson County deputies at his home in the Village of Cedar Hill Lakes. He allegedly shot the victim, and then during the standoff, stood on his porch over the dead woman’s body and held a gun in his hand, the probable-cause statement said.
After his arrest, Treece allegedly “admitted to shooting the victim multiple times with the handgun causing (the woman’s) death,” the report said.
Treece also allegedly “stated that he has been contemplating killing the victim for approximately two months,” according to the report.
He also reportedly admitted that he was a convicted felon, and felons are not supposed to possess guns, the report said.
On Wednesday evening, the Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office filed charges against Treece. In addition to the first-degree murder charge, a class A felony, he was charged with armed criminal action, an unclassified felony, and two counts of unlawful use of a weapon, a class E felony.
Treece was being held today in the Jefferson County Jail on no bond.
At 5:53 a.m. Wednesday, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office was dispatched to the home in the 8400 block of Eastview Drive after a neighbor called 911 and reported that she heard a gunshot, looked outside and saw Treece standing over the victim with a gun in his hand. The neighbor said Treece also pointed the gun at her, the report said.
When Jefferson County deputies arrived on the scene, Treece allegedly pointed the firearm at deputies, according to the statement.
As officers took cover and started talking with the suspect, they noticed the woman’s body on the porch, Capt. Gary Higginbotham said.
The Jefferson County SWAT team was called in, and the next five hours were spent “trying to negotiate a surrender” with the man, Higginbotham said.
He said the man did not speak much to police, though, and officers were concerned the man could be suicidal.
The Sheriff’s Office tried to bring in a family member to help with the negotiation. At first, the family member refused, but later he showed up at the scene and ended up being arrested.
With the temperature outside rising, the Sheriff’s Office was getting ready to bring in different officers to give those at the scene a rest when the suspect surrendered.
First-degree murder is punishable by the death penalty or life in prison without the possibility of parole. Armed criminal action is punishable by a penalty of at least three years in prison, and each of the unlawful use of a weapon charges carries a penalty of up to four years in prison.