A 12-year-old girl said her mother woke her early Sunday morning and told her something “bad had happened” and didn’t want her or her siblings to see it, according to court documents released March 5.

Susan Fleck, 32, of Gentry, was arrested March 3 in Delaware County, Okla., and brought back to Benton County on March 4. She is being held without bond in the Benton County Jail in connection with the death of her husband.

Evan Fleck’s body was found in the bedroom of their home at 19147 East Third St. He was shot once in the head, Sheriff Kelley Cradduck said.

The couple’s four children were in the home during the shooting.

A redacted probable cause affdavit was released March 4. Van Stone, prosecutor, and Jay Saxton, chief public defender, agreed on the redactions before Susan Fleck’s bond hearing.

Jack Sanders, a Gentry police officer, responded to a 911 call at 4:02 a.m. March 3 and found the four children in the home’s basement, according to court documents. The children told police their parents had fought earlier, according to the affidavit.

The children were interviewed at the Children’s Advocacy Center of Benton County. The 12-year-old said her mother woke her at 3:40 a.m. The girl said her mother said to stay out of “Dad’s room” and she was going to call someone to pick up the children, according to court documents.

Sanders found Evan Fleck dead in his bedroom from a gunshot wound to the right side of his cheek, according to the probable cause affidavit.

Gentry police requested the case be handled by the Benton County Sheriff’s Office.

Fleck later called Benton County Central Communications from Delaware County. She told a dispatcher her husband was in the bedroom and he recently had filed for divorce. She told the dispatcher she was sitting in a red Dodge pickup in front of Twisters Convenience Store in Kansas, Okla., according to the affidavit.

According to the court documents, Fleck was crying on the phone with the dispatcher, said she has destroyed her life and then said, “Just take me to jail.” She continued to speak with the dispatcher until Delaware County Sheriff’s Office deputies arrived and took her into custody, according to the affidavit.

Deputies found a green and black Springfield .40 caliber semi-automatic pistol with several rounds still in the magazine, according to court records.

The initial 911 call was made by a woman named Christine Watson, who reported she heard shots fired from the residence as she was walking in a field by a fence. A white rail fence surrounds the Flecks’ property.

Watson said she heard people yelling and then two shots were fired. Watson told a dispatcher children were in the home and she asked dispatch to sendsomeone to the house, according to the affidavit.

Stone said detectives believe Susan Fleck is the woman who made the 911 call and claimed she was Watson. Saxton declined to comment about Watson.

Evan Fleck, 34, filed for divorce Feb. 19, according to court documents. The divorce document states the two married July 13, 1997. They separated Jan. 25. Evan Fleck sought the divorce on the grounds of “general indignities.” Susan Fleck hadn’t filed a response to the divorce request.

Susan Fleck mentioned her husband’s iPad in talking with the dispatcher. Detectives later found the iPad in the home and found photographs of Evan Fleck and another woman embracing, according to court records.

Evan Fleck had been involved in a romantic relationship with another woman since December. The woman told a Sheriff’s Office detective Susan Fleck was aware of the relationship, according to court documents.

Susan Fleck made her first court appearance March 5 when she appeared in Circuit Judge Robin Green’s court for a bond hearing.

Saxton, who stood with Fleck at the hearing, told Green he wouldn’t contest whether probable cause existed to hold Fleck for capital murder.

Stone requested a no contact order be issued to prohibit Fleck from contacting her children or her husband’s family.

Green told Fleck she was prohibited from having any contact with her children or having a third party try to contact the children. Green asked her if she understood the order.

“Yes, ma’am,” Susan Fleck replied.

Fleck kept her head down with her long brown hair covering her face through much of the short hearing where Green denied a request for bond.

Woman dies in house fire From Staff Reports

A woman died and her caretaker was treated for injuries after a house fire near Cherokee City Monday night.

Joyce Boyle died in the fire, according to a news release from the Benton County Sheriff’s Office. Her grandson and caretaker, Calvin Boyle, escaped.

Calvin Boyle was treated for smoke inhalation and minor burns and taken to the Siloam Springs Regional Hospital, said Gentry Fire Chief Vester Cripps.

The entire home at 24692 Cherokee Road was in flames when firefighters arrived, Cripps said. Firefighters were called to the residence at 11:44 p.m.

The fire started in the chimney of a freestanding wood stove and worked its way into the attic, said Marc Trollinger, Benton County fire marshal.

Trollinger said Joyce Boyle was in her mid-70s. Her body was found in the same room as the wood stove and was sent to the Arkansas State Crime Lab to determine cause of death.

It took about an hour for firefighters from Gentry, Decatur, Maysville, Highfill and Siloam Springs to get the blaze under control, Cripps said. Wind was the biggest problem as gusts blew heat and flames toward the home’s narrow driveway, pushing firefighters away.

News, Pages 4 on 03/13/2013