A New Tazewell man remains behind bars in the Claiborne County Jail after being charged in the shooting death of his wife.

Bill Smith. 43, was arrested Tuesday morning after Claiborne County Sheriff’s Officers and Emergency Medical Services were dispatched to his residence on Sunset Lane in New Tazewell to an apparent suicide.

Detectives with the Claiborne County Criminal Investigations Division also were also dispatched to the scene. During the preliminary investigation, it was discovered that 50-year-old Michelle Renee Smith had been shot and killed.

According to a press release from the Claiborne County Sheriff’s Office, the evidence discovered during the initial investigation suggested that the gunshot wound was unlikely to have been self-inflicted.

Following interviews with witnesses who were present at the time of Smith’s death, the victim’s husband was arrested and is being held on charges of criminal homicide.