LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A Louisville man has been arrested and facing charges in the death of a woman in south Louisville.
Charles Webster, 43, is facing reckless homicide charges.
According to arrest records, Metro Police were called to a home in the 100 block of Cambridge Drive on Friday following reports of an overdose.
The victim, later identified as Gwendolyn Smith, 44, was taken to Audubon Hospital where she was pronounced dead.
A Jefferson County coroner who conducted an autopsy on Saturday requested LMPD’s Homicide Unit to get involved when it was revealed Smith suffered a gunshot wound to the chest.
Investigators executed a search warrant where Smith’s body was located.
Webster revealed to investigators under a mirandized statement that he was holding a handgun in the basement of the home and a “negligent discharge caused the gun to fire, striking the ceiling and the light fixture above him.”
However, police said the round struck Smith who was in the room above.
A witness told police she was in the same room as Smith upstairs when she heard a “loud boom” she thought was gunfire.
She told police she went to the area where Webster was and said he was holding a gun, stating “he didn’t mean for the gun to go off.”
Webster was taken into custody and is currently being held at Metro Corrections.
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