Wife shoots at husband, daughter, Father admits to sex with daughter,

April 27, 2011

Wife shoots at husband, daughter

Father admits to sex with daughter, wife fired gun after finding them together, investigators say

By D.E. Smoot

Phoenix Staff Writer

Allegations of sexual abuse and the discharge of a firearm landed a Cherokee County couple in jail after the wife found her husband and teenage daughter in a compromising situation.

Cherokee County law enforcers learned of the alleged sexual abuse Thursday after responding to reports of domestic violence at a home southwest of Tahlequah.

Deputy Preston Oosahwee said he learned upon his arrival that Terry Begay, 45, had fired four rounds from a 9 mm pistol at her husband and another round at the couple’s daughter. No injuries were reported.

The shots, according to reports, allegedly were fired during an argument that erupted after Begay found Stacey Begay, 46, hiding behind a door in their daughter’s bedroom, clad only in a shirt and socks.

According to a report released Tuesday by the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office, Terry Begay told investigators she heard laughter coming from her daughter’s bedroom when she arrived home Thursday afternoon.

Upon further investigation, Begay told police, she found her daughter in bed and wearing only a shirt. Her husband, she said, was hiding behind a door. At some point, according to an investigator’s report, Begay got the pistol and began shooting.

Oosahwee said he found four bullet holes in the east wall of the home and four spent casings. A fifth bullet hole was found in a couch. The fifth casing was found near the front door.

A report filed by Kathryn Young, an investigator with the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office, states Stacey Begay told authorities he had been having sex with his teenage daughter since December. Young’s report also states Terry Begay remembered hearing a gunshot but couldn’t remember when or how she got the pistol.

Stacey Begay was being held Tuesday in lieu of a $15,000 bond in Cherokee County Detention Center on a complaint of sexually abusing a child. Terry Begay was released from jail Monday after posting a $30,000 bond on two complaints of assault and battery with a deadly weapon.

The district attorney’s office received the report Tuesday. Prosecutors were busy with jury trials and unavailable for comment.

Reach D.E. Smoot at (918) 684-2901 or dsmoot@muskogeephoenix.com.