Family Forum / Marriage / Divorce / April 2005

Woman in custody after husband is shot
By Susan Weich
Of the Post-Dispatch
04/29/2005

A 33-year old west-central Illinois woman is now in custody after
police say she shot her husband and then fled with their three young
children.

Illinois State Trooper Sherman Meyer said that Christina Smith shot the
children's father in the shoulder Thursday night with a 22-caliber
rifle before leaving their home in Kinderbrook, Ill. He was transported
by ambulance to a local hospital where he is being treated for his
injury, which is not life threatening, Meyer said.

Illinois State Police issued an Amber Alert for the children: Abby
Brown, 4, Charles Reed, 3, and Trinity Reed, 6 months old. Deputies
with the Lincoln County, Mo., Sheriff's Department began watching for
Smith's green van because she has relatives in the area, and police
believed she might be heading their way.

A deputy spotted Christina Smith's van traveling west on Highway 47
near Troy, Mo. at 6:56 a.m., and followed her to the parking lot of the
Wal-Mart store in Troy, Mo., where she was taken into custody without
incident. Charges are pending against Smith.

Police say the children were found unharmed and were turned over to the
Division of Family Services.