BENTONVILLE - A Gentry woman pleaded not guilty to a murder charge in connection with her husband's shooting death last month.

Susan Fleck, 32, entered the plea April 15 during her arraignment before Circuit Judge Robin Green.

She is accused of shooting her husband, Evan, to death in their Gentry home at 19147 E. Third St. on March 3. Evan Fleck had been shot once in the head, Benton County Sheriff Kelley Cradduck said.

Green appointed the Benton County Public Defenders Office to represent Susan Fleck.

Chief Public Defender Jay Saxton told Green that Susan Fleck had been informed of her rights and the possible punishment she faces.

"How do you plead?" Green asked her.

"Not guilty," Susan Fleck quietly responded.

Green reminded Fleck a no-contact order prohibits her from contacting her husband's family or the couple's four children.

Gentry police went to the home in response to a 911 call about 4 a.m. Police found the couple's children in the basement. A police officer found Evan Fleck shot in his bed, according to court documents.

Gentry police later requested the Benton County Sheriff's Office handle the investigation.

Susan Fleck called Benton County Central Communications from Delaware County, Okla .,after her husband's body was found. She wanted authorities to pick her up at Twisters, a convenience store in Kansas, Okla., according to the affidavit.

Delaware County Sheriff’s Office deputies found a green and black Springfield .40-caliber semiautomatic pistol with several rounds still in the magazine, according to court records.

Susan Fleck told a dispatcher her husband was in the bedroom and he recently had filed for divorce, according to court documents.

Evan Fleck, 36, filed for divorce Feb. 19, according to court documents. The couple had been married since July 13, 1997.

Susan Fleck is being held without bond in the Benton County Jail. An omnibus hearing is set for 8 a.m. June 17.

News, Pages 3 on 04/24/2013