Suspect in Cole County shooting charged with six felonies

EDITOR'S NOTE: This story has been corrected to note the victim was not found at home.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

A man accused in connection with a shooting that badly injured a Jefferson City woman was charged Tuesday with six felonies, including attempted voluntary manslaughter.

Timothy Benson, 18, of Jefferson City, was charged Tuesday with accessory to armed criminal action, illegal gun possession, two counts of armed criminal action and evidence tampering. Benson's arraignment was set for Wednesday afternoon.

Cole County deputies arrested Benson after his girlfriend was shot in the head early Tuesday in the 100 block of Bourbon Street, according to a sheriff's office release.

Benson was being held Wednesday without bond.

The sheriff's office said the woman was in critical condition but stable Tuesday.

The shooting happened after Benson and the victim argued about her cheating on him, according to a probable cause statement. The victim said she wanted to kill herself, a witness said, according to the statement.

"The defendant assisted the victim with attempted self murder" by giving her a gun he wasn't allowed to have, according to the statement.

The witness then saw Benson holding a gun after the victim had been shot in the face, the statement says. He drove the woman to St. Mary's Hospital in Jefferson City before she was flown to University Hospital in Columbia, investigators say.

Check back for updates to this developing story.