Smyrna Woman Charged with Murder After Shooting Her Husband at Their Home

Smyrna, DE – Detectives with the Delaware State Police Homicide Unit have arrested a Smyrna woman and charged her with murder after she shot and killed her husband.

The incident occurred at approximately 3:06 a.m. Wednesday May 28th after a 9-1-1 call was placed from a residence located in the unit block of Sugar Maple Lane in the Willowwood Development. The initial phone call was an immediate disconnect from the caller and a dispatcher from the Kent County Emergency Operations Center re-connected making contact with Amanda G. King, 57 of Smyrna who stated she had shot her husband. Troopers and officers from Smyrna PD and Clayton PD responded to the residence where they immediately took Amanda King into custody without incident. Detectives were able to recover a Glock .45 caliber semi-auto handgun located in the kitchen of the house.

Her husband, James E. King, 68, was located just inside the residence near a staircase with a single gunshot wound to the upper torso. He was transported to Kent General Hospital where he was later pronounced dead. An autopsy was conducted by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner who ruled the cause and manner of death to be homicide by a single gunshot.

Amanda King (No Photo Available) was transported to Troop 3 where she was arrested for Murder 1st and Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony. She was later transported to Kent General Hospital for unrelated health issues and turned over to Delaware Department of Corrections to be held without bail.

A motive in this case has not been established and the investigation is on-going.