Wife charged with murder in Macon’s first homicide of 2017

A Macon woman is accused of fatally shooting her husband during an argument.

Tenita Besant Shoats, 45, of Apt. S-1 at 180 Hidden Lakes Court, was arrested late Sunday and charged with murder, according to Bibb County jail records.

Shoats was taken in for questioning after investigators found the body of 43-year-old Vernon Shoats Sr. with multiple gunshot wounds inside their apartment just before 6 p.m. Sunday, according to Bibb deputies.

“It is just an unfortunate incident that this domestic situation has ended with a death,” Chief Deputy Coroner Lonnie Miley said at the scene. “We don’t know what caused the incident to happen.”

Bibb County sheriff’s investigators have said the couple were arguing and had a physical fight.

Vernon Shoats allegedly had a gun in his hand, and his wife reportedly got the weapon and shot him in the chest and head.

The killing was Bibb County’s first homicide of 2017.

At her first appearance before a magistrate judge Monday afternoon, Tenita Shoats walked into the courtroom using a cane.

No new details in the case emerged at the hearing. She was informed of the charges against her, and she waived a commitment hearing.

This story was originally published January 23, 2017 at 6:59 AM with the headline "Wife charged with murder in Macon’s first homicide of 2017."