Nurse charged with murder 'after shooting boyfriend in head while acting out scene from film'

Kalesha Peterson charged with second-degree murder and unlawful use of weapon

Kalesha Peterson (Fulton Police Department)

A Missouri woman arrested for murder has claimed she and her boyfriend were acting out a scene from a film when she shot him with a handgun.

Kalesha Peterson, a 37-year-old nurse, admitted shooting her 36-year-old partner David Dalton in the head at her home in Fulton, but told police it had happened accidentally.

The nurse said she and Mr Dalton had been drinking and watching a film on the evening of 7 March, when her boyfriend had suggested “the two play out a scene in the movie that involved a firearm”.

She told officers they had then “retrieved a handgun kept in the bedroom to act out the scene”.

Police officers attempted to save the Mr Dalton after Peterson called 911 for help, but he was pronounced dead shortly after medics arrived and attempted to treat him.

The woman has been charged with second-degree felony murder and unlawful use of a weapon, according to Fulton Police Department.

The department did not reveal which film the couple had been watching.

Ms Peterson admitted she had been drinking whisky and was intoxicated at the time of the shooting. A bottle of whisky was found in the bedroom where Mr Dalton died.

She also said she had been taking several medications. Officers found bottles of prescription medications known to increase impairment when used with alcohol at her home.

Two spent shell casings were found in a .38 calibre revolver at the property. The medical examiner’s office confirmed Mr Dalton suffered a single fatal gunshot wound to the head. Peterson said Mr Dalton had used the firearm a few weeks prior to his death.

“Peterson stated that she had accidentally shot her boyfriend,” read a Fulton Police Department statement. “Peterson stated that she had the gun in her hand when the gun discharged.”

The nurse was jailed at a Calloway County prison without bail following her arrest.