In the early morning hours on a Tuesday in LaPlace, Louisiana, 47-year-old Carreta Davis Starks was shot and killed inside her home on Oak Arbor Street. Deputies from the St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff’s Office responded shortly after 2 a.m. after a 911 call from her husband, Richard Starks Jr., who said he had accidentally shot his wife during a domestic issue.

Richard Starks Jr. exited the house with his arms raised and was detained without incident. Deputies found Carreta seated on the living room floor with a gunshot wound to her head; paramedics rendered aid but she was unresponsive and pronounced dead at the scene. A semi-automatic firearm was located near her body. Investigators say the case shifted from an accidental shooting claim after learning Carreta had been seeking a divorce. The couple was alone in the house at the time.

Richard Starks Jr. was arrested and booked into the Sherman Walker Corrections Center and charged with second-degree murder in Carreta’s death. Did anyone in the LaPlace area know the Starks or notice signs of trouble before this shooting?