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Woman who said she killed Texas man was girlfriend, not wife

Booking AP.jpeg
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SPRING, Texas (AP) — After authorities initially said a Houston-area woman told them the man she’d killed over another woman was her husband, they said Tuesday that his family says she was his girlfriend.

Booking AP.jpeg
This May 2022 booking photo provided by the Harris County Sheriff's Office shows Karin Stewart. Stewart has been charged with murder in the fatal shooting Saturday, May 7 of James Hargrove, who authorities said was shot multiple times at a home in Spring, Texas.

Karin Stewart, 51, has been charged with murder in the fatal shooting Saturday of James Hargrove, who authorities said was shot multiple times at the home in Spring.

Stewart said she fatally shot Hargrove after he brought another woman to the Texas home they shared and told her he wanted to be with that woman, according to a probable cause affidavit.

The Harris County sheriff’s office had said over the weekend that Stewart told responding deputies that the man she’d shot was her husband, but the sheriff’s office said Tuesday that Hargrove’s family members said Stewart was his girlfriend.

Meanwhile, a woman attending a Monday court appearance for Stewart said she’d been married to Hargrove since 2009. Sandra Hargrove said they separated in November but regularly talked. She said he’d recently recovered from a lengthy battle with COVID-19 in which he was hospitalized.

Hargrove said she was “shocked” by what happened. “All of this is new,” she said.

According to the affidavit, Stewart told authorities that she felt betrayed and heartbroken after James Hargrove brought a woman to their house Saturday and said he wanted to be in a relationship with her. So Stewart said she retrieved a gun and shot Hargrove, the affidavit said.

The woman Hargrove brought over, who said she’d been dating him for about two months, told authorities she ran out of the house as the shots were fired, according to the affidavit. She told authorities she thought Hargrove and Stewart had an open relationship and dated other people, the affidavit said.

Stewart told authorities she and Hargrove had been in an off-and-on dating relationship for about seven years, according to the affidavit.

Stewart remained jailed Tuesday on $75,000 bond. An attorney listed for her did not immediately return a message.