A 62-year-old man who was at his Cedar Hill home armed and standing over the dead body of a woman believed to be his wife was arrested this morning following a five-hour standoff with Jefferson County deputies, authorities reported.
The man has not been formally charged, and his name has not been released. The Sheriff’s Office has not identified the woman either.
The incident began at 5:53 a.m. when a woman who lives near the suspect in the Village of Cedar Hill Lakes subdivision heard shots fired, went outside to see what was happening and saw the man on the porch of his home in the 8400 block of Eastview Drive armed with a pistol, Capt. Gary Higginbotham said.
“The suspect pointed a weapon at her. She retreated into her house and called us,” he said.
When officers arrived on the scene, the suspect allegedly threatened the officers and pointed the weapon at them. As officers took cover and started talking with the suspect, they noticed the woman’s body on the porch, Higginbotham said.
The Jefferson County’s 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. So, 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 but 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.
“It’s the only good news today,” Higginbotham said.
Then, the Sheriff’s Office sent a robot into the home to make sure everything was clear before sending in deputies. Higginbotham said it’s standard procedure to use robots in those kinds of incidents.
Higginbotham said “officers did a fine job” during a difficult situation.