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Police: Apex woman's death no accident; husband charged

The husband of an Apex woman who was shot and killed at her home the day after Thanksgiving has been charged with murder, police said Friday.

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APEX, N.C. — The husband of an Apex woman who was shot and killed at her home the day after Thanksgiving has been charged with murder, police said Friday.

Michael Anthony Maher, 44, of 2014 Walden Glade Run, was being held without bond in the Wake County jail.

Police initially said Nadia Maher, 38, was shot in the abdomen after a gun accidentally discharged in her home on Nov. 24. She was taken to Duke University Hospital in Durham, where she died.

The Mahers' daughter called 911 and initially told a dispatcher that her little brother accidentally shot their mother, but said she didn't actually see the shooting. She later said that her father had picked up a gun and it went off, according to an application for a warrant to search their home.

"He accidentally picked up the gun, and it accidentally went off. He didn't mean to do it," a sobbing caller tells the dispatcher. "It was just an accident. ... Oh my God, it all happened so fast. He was just fixing his stuff, and it went off. He didn't mean to do it."

Michael Maher told police at his home that he was moving a shotgun upstairs and mistakenly pulled the trigger while checking the safety on the gun. According to the search warrant application, he refused to talk with investigators when they took him to the police station for further questioning.

Court records show the Mahers had a history of domestic violence.

Neighbors said the Mahers have been renting the Walden Glade Run home since August and, for the most part, kept to themselves. The couple has four children, ranging in age from elementary school to high school, neighbors said.

"I've got two teenage children myself, and it's just, we're just really sad for the kids," neighbor Jay Rudinsky said. "They're obviously the ones who are impacted the most."

Police seized three cellphones, two tablet computers and a laptop from the home and plan to review footage from security cameras inside and outside the home to determine if the cameras captured anything that could shed light on what happened the night of the shooting, according to the search warrant.

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