SUPERIOR COURT
An 86-year-old Jones County man was indicted by a grand jury on murder charges following a tragedy that appears to have started as a domestic dispute.
Charles William Hill Sr. was indicted June 6 on one charge of malice murder, one charge of felony murder and two charges of aggravated assault.
Hill was arrested April 24 on the charge of murder. The victim of the shooting was his 86-year-old wife, Ann Marie.
Jones County Sheriff’s Office Investigator John Simmons said, when he arrived at the scene, the couple’s son and daughter were there. He said he was told a domestic dispute started between the father and son about a scheduled video appointment that afternoon. During the argument, the father said he was going to get his gun, but the threat was not taken seriously.
The investigator said the father did go into the other room and came back with a gun. Hill shot once before the son was able to get to him, and in a struggle for the gun, two more shots were fired into the floor.
Simmons said the son told him he took the gun to his car but did not realize his mother had been shot until he came back into the house.
The investigator said the victim was shot in the torso and was deceased before officers or the ambulance could arrive.
Hill was taken into custody at the scene.
