Drunk woman says she was acting when she killed her boyfriend, Missouri cops say

A woman told Missouri cops that she and her boyfriend were drinking and watching a movie when they began re-enacting a movie scene, the Fulton Police Department said. The scene involved a gun, and her boyfriend ended up dead, police said.

Kalesha Marie Peterson, 37, has been charged with second-degree murder and unlawful use of a weapon in connection to the fatal shooting, KOMU reported.

Peterson called 911 just before 10:30 p.m. on Thursday asking for help after reporting that she accidentally shot her boyfriend in the head at her home, Fulton police said in a press release posted to Facebook. Her boyfriend was identified by police as 36-year-old David Dalton.

When officers got to her home, they “found Dalton in a bedroom with a gunshot wound to the head,” according to the statement. “Officers attempted life-saving measures until medics arrived. Medics attempted to treat Dalton and declared that he was dead.”

In an interview with police, Peterson said her boyfriend had “suggested the two play out a scene in the movie that involved a firearm,” the release states.

Peterson said she and Dalton then went into the bedroom to get the handgun and act out the movie, police wrote. She said the .38 caliber revolver was in her hand when it fired.

A police official said he couldn’t “provide details about the movie the couple was re-enacting,” NBC News reported. The movie title may be used as evidence.

After her boyfriend was shot, “Peterson stated that she attempted to stop the bleeding from the gunshot wound to Dalton’s head,” according to the release.

She also said that she had been drinking whiskey and was intoxicated, police said. Officers found a bottle of whiskey in the same room where Dalton was killed.

Detective C. Kent said “she could smell the strong odor of an intoxicating beverage coming from Peterson’s breath,” and Peterson’s voluntary breath sample confirmed she had been drinking alcohol.

In addition to the whiskey, Peterson said she took several medications, and police said “some of those prescriptions included medications known to increase impairment when used with alcoholic beverages.”

Officers found the handgun at the scene, and there were two spent shall casings in the revolver, police said.

“Peterson advised that Dalton had used the firearm some weeks prior and had not removed one of the spent shell casings found in the course of this investigation,” police wrote.

The Callaway County prosecutor charged Peterson “after police said she admitted to shooting and killing her boyfriend,” KOMU reported.

This story was originally published March 10, 2019 at 2:11 PM with the headline "Drunk woman says she was acting when she killed her boyfriend, Missouri cops say."