Man killed mother of his baby for 'defying him' by seeking sole custody of their 1-year-old

Charles Maurice Colbert (Tulsa Police Department) and authorities outside of the home where he shot and killed Ashley Sneed (KOTV screenshot)

A 43-year-old man in Oklahoma will spend the remainder of his life behind bars for killing the mother of his child, fatally shooting the 38-year-old victim inside of her home after she attempted to have him served with papers filing for sole custody of their-1-year-old.

Tulsa County District Court Judge Clifford J. Smith on Tuesday ordered Charles Maurice Colbert to serve a sentence of life in a state correctional facility without the possibility of parole for the 2022 slaying of Ashley Sneed, court records reviewed by Law&Crime show.

Colbert in December waived his right to a jury trial, opting instead for a bench trial before Smith who went on to find him guilty of murdering Sneed.

According to a previous news release from the Tulsa Police Department, officers at about 12:30 p.m. on May 7, 2022, responded to a residence located near E Latimer Court and N 89th E Avenue in regard to a reported homicide. Upon arriving at the scene, first responders found an adult female, later identified as Sneed, who appeared to be suffering from multiple gunshot wounds.

Investigators said they learned that when Colbert arrived at Sneed’s home, she attempted to lock him out. Colbert was able to get into the home and the two got into an argument about visitation rights regarding their child.

“Sneed attempted to serve Colbert papers for child custody,” the release stated. “Colbert became very angry and shot and killed Sneed. Colbert then fled the scene.”

Authorities said that there were several children present at the home at the time of the shooting. However, the then-1-year-old child that Colbert and Sneed shared was not in the residence at the time.

Colbert, who had fled the scene before authorities arrived, was later located and apprehended in Dallas, Texas.

The Tulsa County District Attorney’s Office in a press release said that Colbert had physically abused Sneed throughout their relationship

“Ashley Sneed was the victim of Charles Colbert’s domestic violence for many years,” Assistant District Attorney Dalinda Jeffers, who prosecuted the case along with ADA John Tjeerdsma, said in a statement. “Her children were terrorized by his explosive rage. However, with help from family and friends, Ashley found the strength to climb out of that abyss and start a new and productive life away from him, free of his brutality, at least for a short while. I’m glad she got to feel the sun on her face and the wind in her hair before Colbert murdered her for defying him, firing 13 gunshots into her, most if not all of them as she laid on her laundry room floor. Justice was done today when the judge gave him a sentence of life without parole.”

Following the sentencing hearing, Colbert’s public defender filed a notice of intent to appeal, court records show.

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