× Thanks for reading! Log in to continue. Enjoy more articles by logging in or creating a free account. No credit card required. Log in Sign up {{featured_button_text}}

CHOUTEAU — A man is accused of fatally shooting his aunt last weekend and attempting to set her home on fire because he was tired of having sex with her in exchange for housing, an affidavit in the case states.

Prosecutors and police allege that Jeremy Lee Sappington, 37, shot 50-year-old Verna Sarten in the head with a .22-caliber revolver between Saturday night and Sunday morning in the 1400 block of East Jones Street, then left the scene in her boyfriend's Dodge pickup.

Around 1:10 a.m. Monday, Mayes County sheriff's deputies told the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation about her death after finding the circumstances suspicious, spokeswoman Jessica Brown said at the time.

Sarten's boyfriend, Gerald Howard, told investigators Sappington lived with Sarten and that he was worried after being unable to reach Sarten or Sappington by phone. Howard told a family member to check on her, and when he arrived he saw Sarten partially clothed and lying on the floor, court records show.

Investigators also reported the carpet began melting due to papers catching fire near a space heater. The oven was turned on with its door open, and the central heat in the home was activated, the affidavit says.