Woman bound for trial in death of husband
Aug. 22—A woman who told dispatchers she shot her husband "in an effort to escape a domestic violence situation" will face trial for the man's death.
Cynthia Agnew, 54, was charged with first-degree murder for the Jan. 19, 2023, shooting death of her husband, 59-year-old Jan Michael Agnew, according to documents filed by the District 18 District Attorney's Office.
Agnew was bound over on the first-degree murder charge following a preliminary hearing Monday at the Pittsburg County Courthouse.
A probable cause affidavit filed in the case states a woman, identified as Cynthia Agnew, told dispatchers she had shot her husband twice "in an effort to escape a domestic violence situation."
"Dispatch stated that the female refuses to go back into the residence to check on the husband due to being afraid he is angry and will shoot her," the affidavit states. "Dispatch also informed us that both parties were heavily intoxicated."
After deputies arrived, the woman told deputies her husband and the gun were both in the kitchen and that she was unsure "if he had control of the weapon," the affidavit states.
The man was found unresponsive in the residence with at least two gunshot wounds, the report states.
Deputies then detained the woman with PCSO Deputy James Pitts writing in his report the woman told him "she deserved to be in jail."
Pitts wrote in his report he did not see any visible injuries on the woman with Cynthia Agnew telling the deputy there was no physical altercation before the shooting and that it was all verbal.
A friend of the couple who showed up to the scene told deputies that the woman "was extremely jealous' of her husband with the woman being a "heavy drinker."
The friend told deputies that as long he knew the woman "she has continually stated she had hated Jan and wished he was dead," the report states.
"She threatened him so frequently that whenever he would hear a gunshot in the area, he wondered if Cynthia had finally gone through with her threats and shot him," the friend told investigators.
A 9mm handgun was found inside the residence that contained "five live rounds of full metal jacket 9mm ammunition," the affidavit states.
"There was a spent casing still in the barrel in the chamber that did not eject, likely due to an extremely close contact shot," Pitts wrote in his report.
Agnew will appear in front of Pittsburg County Associate Judge Tim Mills at 10 a.m. Sept. 20 for district court arraignment.
She continues to be held at the Pittsburg County Jail on a $1 million bond.