A 66-year-old woman from Iowa has been arrested and charged with first-degree murder following the fatal shooting of her 72-year-old husband. Kimberly Ann Charlton was taken into custody on Wednesday after authorities responded to a domestic dispute call at their residence, located approximately 100 miles southwest of Des Moines.
The Cedar Falls Department of Public Safety reported that officers arrived at the scene around 6:32 p.m. on Wednesday. They discovered an adult male, later identified as David Alan Charlton, who had suffered a fatal gunshot wound. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Kimberly Charlton, the victim’s wife, was also found at the scene and subsequently arrested. The police were assisted in their response by Black Hawk County Dispatch, MercyOne Paramedics, and the Cedar Falls Fire Division.
Further details about the incident were revealed in a criminal complaint obtained by the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier newspaper. According to the complaint, Kimberly Charlton told detectives that her husband had attempted to assault her earlier that evening in their bedroom. She claimed that their dog intervened, stopping the alleged attack.
David Charlton reportedly left the bedroom, only to return with his walking cane, threatening to beat the dog. The dog retreated down the hallway, followed by David Charlton, still brandishing the cane. Kimberly Charlton alleges that she then retrieved a firearm from a dresser in the bedroom and warned her husband that she would shoot him if he did not stop. When he continued, she reportedly fired a single shot, striking him in the center of his back.
Kimberly Charlton is currently being held in the Black Hawk County Jail with a bond set at $1 million.