Police in Provo have arrested a woman who admitted to shooting and killing her husband but says she did so out of self-defense.

At 7:41 p.m. Saturday, police responded to a call from the woman, identified as Melissa Johnson-Fausett, 56, at the couple’s home in northwest Provo. When police arrived five minutes later, they met Johnson-Fausett on the front porch and found her husband, Corry Fausett, 55, lying on the ground in the hallway near the entrance to the bedroom. He was pronounced dead on the scene and after examining his body police found “a bullet wound to his right side, the back of his head, and two additional bullet wounds to the left side of his face,” according to a probable cause affidavit.

The affidavit states that when police found the husband, “There was blood spatter on the walls surrounding the husband’s body and a pool of blood on the floor. Officers reported that the pool of blood was beginning to coagulate, and the blood spatter on the walls appeared to be drying.”

Johnson-Fausett is the only suspect and after being interviewed by investigators she was booked into the Utah County Jail on suspicion of murder. She is currently being held without bail but had not yet been formally charged in the killing as of Monday afternoon.

Johnson-Fausett told investigators that her husband had attacked her when he came into the room, so she shot him out of self-defense. The police report, however, casts doubt on that assertion.

“(With) the evidence found and collected at the house, it is believed that Melissa intentionally or knowingly caused the death of her husband and was no longer acting in self-defense,” the affidavit states.

As recorded in the report, according to Johnson-Fausett’s accounting of events, “she was lying on her bed when her husband came into her bedroom, grabbed her by the neck, and started hitting her on the top of the head.” When this happened, she told investigators, she grabbed the gun beside her on the bed and began shooting at her husband.

“Her husband attempted to leave the room, and Melissa stood up and started to follow him, continuing to shoot until he collapsed on the ground just outside the doorway to her room. Melissa said that her husband had threatened to kill her, and she believed that he was going to a different room to get a gun.” the affidavit states. She then reportedly put the gun back on the bed and called 911.

However, after obtaining a warrant to search the home, collect evidence and investigate the scene, investigators said the statements of Johnson-Fausett conflicted with the evidence found. According to the affidavit, there was no obvious blood on the gun that Johnson-Fausett said she used to shoot her husband. However, a second handgun was found in Johnson-Fausett’s purse, which was in the bedroom under some clothing. “The handgun found in the purse had blood spatter on the front end. When Melissa was questioned about the second gun found in her purse, Melissa said that the blood was from shooting rabbits in the desert at close range. The blood on the second handgun was tested and was positive for human blood,” the affidavit states.

Out of the four bullet wounds found on Corry Fausett’s body, one on the side of his face had burn marks, indicating it was caused by a close-range shot, according to the police report. While Johnson-Fausett’s statement claims she shot her husband until he collapsed on the ground, damage to the floor, which was discovered after her husband’s body was moved, reportedly points to a shot being fired down directly above his face. “After falling to the ground, there was no evidence of him moving to indicate that he was a threat to Melissa’s safety,” the affidavit states.

In addition, Johnson-Fausett was evaluated by paramedics on the scene and late by a doctor at Utah Valley Hospital. “Both the paramedics and the doctor stated there was no evidence of injury to Melissa’s head,” the affidavit states.

Janna-Lee Holland, public information officer for the Provo Police Department, told the Daily Herald, “Detectives are reviewing evidence in more detail as part of the ongoing investigation, and any findings will be forwarded to the county attorney’s office for their review/inclusion.”

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