By Chris Harris, People
Three years after fatally shooting a 61-year-old man in what she characterized as an act of self-defense, a 57-year-old North Carolina woman has been charged with murder.
A statement from the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office on the 2015 homicide alleges the shooting occurred after the couple’s romance soured.
Sheri Williams Jones turned herself in last week to the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office.
Investigators allege she killed Clarence Smith, who she met through the online dating service Farmer’s Only.
The shooting happened on June 10, 2015, in Fayetteville.
Police responded to Jones’ residence to find Smith unresponsive, lying in the front yard.
Jones admitted she shot Smith but said she acted in self-defense, according to the statement, which does not address details of her self-defense claim.
She told investigators Smith was at her house to pick up his things after the two broke up.
The couple had dated only a few months.
Jones has been charged with first-degree murder.
The statement does not specify why it took three years for Jones to be charged in the killing.
It was unclear Monday if she had entered a plea to the charge. Information on her attorney was unavailable.
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