Woman fatally shoots husband in head after mistaking him for home intruder, SAPD says

SAN ANTONIO – A 61-year-old woman is behind bars after fatally shooting her husband in the head, San Antonio police say.

The shooting happened around 6 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 3, in the 3200 block of Northridge Drive.

According to an arrest warrant affidavit, Melissa Johnson Byrd, 61, thought she had shot an intruder, but it was her husband.

Byrd was holding a cell phone with blood on her hand as officers arrived on the scene, the affidavit said.

After Byrd was arrested, officers went inside the residence and found her husband dead in one of the bedrooms, SAPD said.

While searching the crime scene, authorities seized multiple firearms, including the one holstered on the victim’s hip.

According to the affidavit, Byrd said she and her husband were awake all night because they thought their bank accounts were being hacked and their home was about to be burglarized.

Byrd told detectives that her husband’s death was a “sticky situation” and refused to speak further without an attorney, police said.

Byrd is charged with Aggravated Assault-Deadly Weapon-SBI-Family.