WA wife charged with manslaughter

EVERETT, Wash. (AP) — An Everett, Wash., woman accused of fatally shooting her husband in the head has been charged with second-degree manslaughter.

In a related development, Everett police obtained a search warrant to photograph the woman, Melissa Blatchford, for any evidence she had been assaulted before the Dec. 30 shooting.

The Daily Herald reports (http://is.gd/eKBgXK) that a neighbor told detectives he heard the couple arguing in their apartment. He reported hearing screaming and loud thumps.

Officers found 42-year-old Quinton Blatchford with a gunshot wound to the head. He died Saturday in a hospital.

The 30-year-old woman reportedly told arriving officers that she didn’t mean to shoot her husband and didn’t know the gun was loaded.

Everett District Court set her bail at $500,000. Prosecutors have until Jan. 20 to refile the case in Snohomish County Superior Court.

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Information from: The Daily Herald, http://www.heraldnet.com