Left: Annie Huffstutler (Dale County Jail). Right: Shawn Watson (Facebook).
An Alabama woman is behind bars after she allegedly murdered her husband as he slept.
Dale County Jail records show 42-year-old Annie Huffstutler faces a murder charge in the death of Shawn Christian Watson, 38. Sheriff Mason Bynum told the Dothan Eagle his officers responded shortly after 2:30 a.m. Saturday to a shooting at a home in the 1000 block of West Main Street in Ariton, a small town of less than 1,000 people some 75 miles southeast of Montgomery.
Bynum said Huffstutler walked into the bedroom and shot her husband while he was sleeping. The coroner pronounced Watson dead on scene.
The sheriff told local CBS affiliate WTVY there were five kids in the home at the time of the shooting, but none of them actually witnessed the crime. One of the kids called 911 after hearing the shot, Bynum said.
“We have contacted our partners at the Wiregrass Angel House to provide assistance to the family as they begin this process of grief and the journey towards emotional recovery,” Bynum told the Eagle.
Cops did not release a potential motive for the incident. Deputies did not immediately return a message seeking further details about the incident. A probable cause arrest affidavit that would provide more details about the shooting also was not immediately available.
Watson paid tribute his wife in a Facebook post in January on their anniversary.
“Happy Anniversary to my beautiful wife another one in the books. Through all our sacrifice and determination we will continue to grow together love together and have fun creating our lifetime of memories I LOVE YOU Annie Huffstutler Watson,” he wrote.
Huffstutler remains in the Dale County Jail without bond.
