Arizona woman accused of killing husband, running errands before reporting it 3 days later
BrieAnna J. Frank
A Yavapai County woman was arrested on suspicion of fatally shooting her husband in the head on Jan. 6, then waiting three days to report it, leaving his body in their home as she ran errands and drove around the state, officials said.
Katherine Herbert, 57, told officials at the Yavapai County Sheriff's Office in Prescott on Tuesday that she shot and killed her husband, 58-year-old James Herbert, in their home in Peeples Valley, which is north of Yarnell.
Herbert told deputies that she and her husband began arguing after he returned home from work and that her husband was being aggressive toward her, the Yavapai County Sheriff's Office said.
Herbert told investigators she grabbed a loaded shotgun and pointed it at her husband while telling him to stop, the Sheriff's Office said. Her husband then went to a bedroom before returning to pick up a bag that contained a handgun, the Sheriff's Office said.
The woman told the Sheriff's Office that her husband walked back to the bedroom as he rummaged through the bag. Katherine Herbert said she followed with the shotgun and stopped at the bedroom door, the Sheriff's Office said.
Herbert told deputies that she saw her husband, who was looking away from her, move the slide on the handgun as if he were loading a round into the chamber, the Sheriff's Office said.
When he looked up, Hebert said she thought he raised the handgun and she fired her shotgun, striking him in the head, officials said. The woman told officials he fell to the floor and Herbert saw a severe wound to his head.
Herbert said she "panicked" and later decided to drive to Snowflake, where she stopped at a church at about 3 a.m. Jan. 7 to pray, the Sheriff's Office said.
She told authorities she returned home and found her husband's body as she had left it, before going to sleep and later cleaning the house, the Sheriff's Office said.
On Jan. 8, Herbert drove to Wickenburg, ran errands and returned home, with her husband's body still there, officials said.
Later that day over the phone, Herbert told her daughter what happened, the Sheriff's Office said.
Herbert drove to her daughter's house in Prescott Valley; her daughter took Herbert to the Sheriff's Office on Tuesday to report the shooting, officials said.
Deputies were dispatched to Herbert's home and found her husband's body as well as the handgun, officials said.
Herbert was booked at the Camp Verde Detention Center on one charge of first-degree murder.
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