ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½

Zachary Childs was arrested a few hours after the early morning shooting, police said. He was found "wandering in a nearby creek."

He's charged with first-degree murder, armed criminal action and first-degree burglary. Childs remained in custody without bond Sunday evening. 

The shooting happened about 1 a.m. at a house in the 100 block of Spring Leigh Court, Ballwin police Officer Mark Reckert said. Police called it a domestic violence case.

Officers found the woman inside the home. She had been shot in her head and later died at a hospital. Reckert said Childs ran away from the scene.

Her identity had not been released as of Sunday evening. Reckert said police were still trying to notify family.

Childs and Stephanie Childs own the home where the shooting happened, according to online property records.

The two were in the middle of a divorce that was filed in December, according to online records. 

In February, a judge signed off on a protection order that required Zachary Childs to “not commit or threaten to commit domestic violence, stalking, molesting, (and) sexual assault� against Stephanie Childs. 

He was ordered to stay at least 500 feet away from her and communicate only through the court’s communication program, which is often used to maintain a record of interaction between parents in custody cases.

They have one child together, according to court documents, and have been married for about 13 years. Court documents said they moved to Ballwin from Plano, Texas, in October 2021.