VIAN, OK – A 70-year-old Oklahoma woman has been charged with first-degree murder after authorities say she fatally shot her husband, a former Cherokee Nation Supreme Court justice, while he slept on their couch.
Elizabeth Poteete was arrested in connection with the February 5 shooting death of Troy Wayne Poteete at their Vian home, according to court documents filed in Cherokee Nation District Court.
Sequoyah County Sheriff’s deputies responded to a 911 call around 11 p.m. after Poteete reported she had shot her husband multiple times. She told the dispatcher she would wait for officers on her front porch, investigators said.
When deputies arrived, they discovered Troy Poteete on the living room couch with multiple gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
According to police reports, Elizabeth Poteete told investigators her husband had made threats against her life, claiming his girlfriend and another individual were planning to kill her. She said she retrieved a handgun from a file cabinet and fired multiple shots from approximately four to five feet away.
Poteete told authorities she was uncertain how many times she pulled the trigger during the incident.
Troy Poteete served as a founding member of the Trail of Tears Association and spent eight years as a Cherokee Nation Tribal Council member. He also held the position of director for the Arkansas Riverbed Authority during his career in tribal governance.
Elizabeth Poteete remains held without bond at the Sequoyah County Jail. Her next court appearance is scheduled for March 3, according to court records.
The Cherokee Nation District Court will handle prosecution of the case, as the defendant is a tribal member and the crime occurred within tribal jurisdiction.
