Cary man shot ex-wife after divorce, alleged affairs, warrants say
A 59-year-old Cary man told police and a landscaper that he shot and killed his ex-wife, and the couple’s son said his parents had divorced this year after allegations of extramarital affairs, according to search warrants released Tuesday.
Michael Curtis Sauls of Piney Plains Road was charged with murder in September after the death of Patsy Wood Sauls, 57. Police described the incident, Cary’s first homicide of 2019, as a “domestic disturbance.”
Warrants filed by Cary police said officers arrived at the scene and found Sauls in the front yard, where he said he had just shot his ex-wife and left the gun in the back yard. After arresting Sauls, police found his wife in the back yard with a gunshot wound. She was pronounced dead at WakeMed.
Two witnesses who work for a landscaping company said they heard shots and saw Sauls with a handgun, warrants said. One called 911 and then walked with Sauls from the back to the front yard, where he said, “Call the police. I just shot my wife.”
In custody in the Cary Police Department, Sauls repeatedly asked if his wife was OK, warrants said.
Sauls’ son arrived at the house and told officers his parents had been married 35 years before divorcing in 2019, though both remained at the Piney Plains house until recently.
The son said, “that if his parents were divorced as they had told him it was more than likely related to or at least in part because of an affair by one of his parents during the early part of their marriage,” warrants said.
On Sept. 18, the day before the killing, Sauls “expressed concern about Patsy’s health due to what he believed to be her involvement with another man,” warrants said.
This story was originally published October 2, 2019 at 8:57 AM.