Steven Marcus Denson
Walker County deputies and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation are at the scene of an apparent homicide in the 1900 block of Kemp Road in LaFayette, Ga.
Investigators work a murder scene in the 1900 block of Kemp Road in Lafayette, Ga., Monday, November 23, 2015.LAFAYETTE, Ga. - Police say a Walker County man killed his wife during an argument, dragged her body from the living room to the bed and waited at least a day before telling a neighbor what he did.
The Walker County Sheriff's Office arrested 41-year-old Steven Marcus Denson on a charge of murder Sunday. Sheriff Steve Wilson said Denson shot his wife, 38-year-old Christina Michelle Denson, in the neck with a .22-caliber handgun inside their home at 1967 Kemp Road.
Wilson said Denson has "acknowledged responsibility" for killing his wife, although he maintains the shooting was an accident. He remained in jail without bond Monday.
Wilson is unsure why Christina and Steven Denson were arguing before he killed her. Wilson said Christina had asked to take a leave of absence from her job at United Synthetics on Wednesday, though he does not know whether that had anything to do with the dispute with her husband.
About 24-36 hours after the killing, Wilson said, Steven Denson went to a neighbor's house and asked if the neighbor would want to buy his truck and fix his chainsaw.
When the neighbor came to the house, Wilson said, the two men sat together in the living room. Then Steven Denson told the neighbor he killed Christina. He showed him the body.
"The guy starts freaking out," Wilson said, "like anybody would."
The neighbor left, Wilson said, and told another friend, who then called the sheriff's office. Investigators arrived, but Steven Denson was not home. So they requested a search warrant before finding the body.
Later that day, Wilson said, Steven Denson showed up again at the neighbor's house. The neighbor called the sheriff's office, and investigators showed up at the house. They interrogated Steven Denson at the sheriff's office, where he told them he killed his wife. He said he didn't mean to.
"We don't believe that that is the correct version of what happened," Wilson said, though he declined to discuss the specific evidence that makes investigators think Steven Denson is lying.
The husband and wife were living on property owned by Christina Denson's parents. There are two houses together, sharing one driveway in the rural stretch. Christina Denson's aunt lives next door.
Though Steven Denson was convicted for trafficking methamphetamine in 2005 and was arrested on a charge of battery in 2007, Wilson said Christina Denson's family did not tell investigators they suspected any violence among the two. But he said Christina Denson's aunt figured her niece was in trouble when officers arrived Sunday afternoon.
"They assumed the worst," he said. "They knew things were not good."
Contact staff writer Tyler Jett at tjett@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6476.