Elizabethtown woman appears in court after husband’s shooting death

ELIZABETHTOWN, NC (WWAY) — A Bladen County woman appeared in court Thursday for the first time since being charged in the shooting death of her husband.

Charlotte Brandy Smith, 45, of Elizabethtown, was arrested early Wednesday morning and charged with first-degree murder. Authorities say her husband, Aaron Daine Smith, 42, also of Elizabethtown, sustained gunshot wounds at their home on Woodhouse Drive and later died from his injuries while being transported to the hospital.

According to the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, deputies were notified on Tuesday by the Bladen County Sheriff’s Office that a murder suspect was believed to be traveling into Montgomery County. Deputies then alerted the Candor and Mount Gilead Police Departments. Mount Gilead officers located Smith’s vehicle and took her into custody.

Smith previously owned Bladen Online, a digital news outlet she sold earlier this year to the Bladen Journal. Tax records also list the couple as owners of Cape Fear Heating and Cooling in Wilmington. 

Elizabethtown Police say the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation and the Bladen County Sheriff’s Office are assisting in the investigation.

Smith is being held without bond. Her next court appearance is scheduled for July 24.

WWAY also contacted the Bladen Journal for comment, but we have not received a response as of Thursday evening.