A preliminary hearing conference for a Weatherford man charged in the murder of his girlfriend is set for January 7.
Zackary Sherwood, 27 of Weatherford, is charged with second-degree murder in the death of his girlfriend Ashley Barr, 30 of Weatherford, earlier this year.
Second-degree murder charges in Oklahoma are defined as murder which was not premeditated, but out of “reckless disregard” of human life.
Sherwood was detained at the scene of the May 11 incident following the reported homicide of Barr. He later was arrested as the primary suspected and charged with second-degree murder. According to the affidavit of probable cause filed with the Custer County District Court, Sherwood claimed Barr was shot by accident.
About 10 p.m. May 11, Sherwood waived his Miranda rights to speak with Det. Joe Cox. He told Cox he and Barr had just returned from Chicken Express and were going to smoke outside their motel room, according to the affidavit.
Sherwood claimed he was cold so Barr offered him her hoodies and asked him to grab a blanket from inside the hotel room. Once inside the room, Sherwood said he noticed his 410 gauge shotgun sitting on the bed with a shell inside, according to the affidavit.
Sherwood allegedly took both the blanket and the gun off the bed, leaned the gun against the dresser and threw the blanket to Barr. Sherwood said he chambered the shell but “never got to un-chamber it before it went off.” He claims not to know which way Barr was facing when the gun went off, but allegedly the gun was pointed up and to the left, according to the affidavit.
A 410 gauge shot gun must be chambered and un-chambered in order to unload it. Sherwood said the gun allegedly went off when he pushed the bolt forward and did not have his finger on the trigger. He said the gun had never done that before, and he did not understand how it happened, according to the affidavit.
Sherwood is represented by Matthew Swain of Swain Law Group in Norman.