Woman kills husband, alleges murder for hire plot

A West Plains woman has been arrested following the shooting death of her husband on Wednesday night. Police arrested Brandy Gale Wilson, 49, for the homicide of John Lee Wilson, Sr., 48. 

 

Officers with the W.P.P.D. were on Jackson Street at roughly 9:20 pm on November 20 when they heard several gunshots coming from Columbus Street, two streets to the east, according to a press release. While en route to investigate, a 9-1-1 call was received from the 1200 block of Columbus Street saying a man had been shot and was on their porch. 

 

Police arrived at the residence and found Mr. Wilson deceased, with multiple gunshot wounds. He and his wife resided across the street from where his body was found. The officers contacted Mrs. Wilson and took her to the station to be interviewed.

 

In the post-Miranda interview, Mrs. Wilson stated she had been suffering abuse by her husband for several months and had finally snapped, according to court documents. She said her husband had been calling her crazy and threatened to place her in the psych ward for a mental evaluation because she told him she heard people outside of the house and he did not.

 

Mrs. Wilson claimed she had overheard Mr. Wilson on the phone asking another party to kill her and believed she heard “the snipers” outside and inside her home. The night of the murder, the two argued, and then scuffled. She said she grabbed a pistol from her nightstand and shot her husband, who ran out of the house towards the neighbor's house.

 

She followed him across the street, thinking he was going to ask the neighbor for a gun, and shot him multiple times while he was on the porch, saying she was unsure how many times she fired the gun.

 

Brandy Wilson is charged with first degree murder, first degree domestic assault – serious physical injury, unlawful use of weapon - subsection 9 - shoot at/from motor vehicle, at person, motor vehicle, building - death or injury, unlawful use of weapon - subsection 9 - shoot at/from motor vehicle, at person, motor vehicle, building, and four counts of armed criminal action. She is being held in the Howell County Jail on a $100,000 cash or corporate surety bond. An arraignment was scheduled for Nov. 22 but was rescheduled for Nov. 25 before Judge Melissa Stewart after the defendant refused to put clothing on.