A 59-year-old Paulding County woman has been charged with felony murder in the death of her husband, whose body was found Saturday after a house fire.
Jeanie Rebecca Caldwell is being held in the Paulding County Detention Center without bond for allegedly killing 64-year-old Billy Gene Caldwell, sheriff’s office spokesman Cpl. Ashley Henson said Wednesday. She also will be charged with arson, he said.
The Paulding fire department responded to the burning residence in the 100 block of Old Hiram Road in Dallas around 4 p.m. Saturday and began to extinguish the fire. When firefighters entered the home, they found a body, authorities said. After sheriff’s office detectives, GBI agents and state fire marshal’s office investigators arrived, witnesses and family members were interviewed and the deceased homeowner was identified.
Authorities determined that Billy Caldwell had died from a gunshot to the back of the head and was burned in the fire, Henson told 95.5 FM and AM 750 News/Talk WSB.
“We knew from the beginning, once we had determined there was a body inside the residence, we knew that something wasn’t right,” Henson said.
Jeanie Caldwell, the wife of the deceased, was found in the woods away from the residence when authorities searched the area, he said. She was interviewed by detectives and charged with felony murder.
The GBI crime lab’s autopsy later confirmed that Billy Caldwell’s death was a homicide, Henson said.
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