LOXAHATCHEE, Fla. – A South Florida law enforcement officer who fatally shot her husband while he was lying on the couch in the living room of their home claimed she felt threatened by him, deputies said.
Marcia Thompson, 39, was arrested Friday on a charge of second-degree murder.
According to a Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office probable cause affidavit, Thompson told deputies she shot her 52-year-old husband, Terry Thompson, after he "threatened to cut her throat and cut her head off numerous times" during an argument about the marital problems they were having.
Marcia Thompson claimed her husband continued to threaten her while she was getting ready for work before she shot him with her duty-issued gun.
Deputies said two children were home at the time of the shooting.
Marcia Thompson admitted her husband never threatened her with a weapon and didn't touch her before the shooting, although she did say he threw a television remote control at her, according to the affidavit.
When asked why she didn't notify authorities of her husband's threats, Marcia Thompson claimed she was scared because she thought her phone was in the living room, even though deputies said she had a work-issued cellphone in a pouch on the belt of her uniform she was wearing.
Palm Beach County court records show Thompson is a U.S. customs officer who works at the Port of Palm Beach.
Thompson was being held without bond Monday morning at the main Palm Beach County jail.