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Wife charged in shooting death of husband at north Raleigh apartment

Raleigh police arrested and charged Tara Leigh Rice, 44, with murder Friday afternoon in connection with the shooting death of her husband, Mark Edward Rice, 54.

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RALEIGH, N.C. — Raleigh police arrested and charged Tara Leigh Rice, 44, with murder Friday afternoon in connection with the shooting death of her husband, Mark Edward Rice, 54.

Officers responded around 3 a.m. to the 1200 block Rio Wild Drive near the intersection of Falls of Neuse and Durant roads, according to the Raleigh Police Department. Mark Rice was declared dead inside an apartment at the Bell Falls River complex.

In a 911 call released on Friday by Raleigh police, the caller told the dispatcher there was a commotion that woke the caller up.

"I just heard the female say 'What are you going to do? You shot him,'" the caller told the dispatcher.

The caller then said, "He just banged her up against the wall. I heard something right now, but I don't know what I heard. It was not a gunshot that I heard, though."

Police said the shooting was not a random act and stemmed from a domestic dispute.

Richard Hinkley, a close friend of Mark Rice, said the couple met around 2010.

"I know them very well, but I am still trying to comprehend," he said.

Hinkley said the couple had been dealing with several family illnesses, including the traumatic injury of Tara Rice's daughter, who was hit by a truck eight months ago.

According to police, officers had been called to the Rice's apartment in 2012 and 2014 for domestic disturbances. In 2014, Mark Rice was charged with assault on a female, but the charge was later dropped.

Tara Rice was being held in the Wake County Detention Center.

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