Woman charged with shooting, killing 75-year-old mother, kicking deputy in Orange County

Around midnight, deputies with the Orange County Sheriff’s Office responded to a home on Spruce Pine Trail, where an argument and shooting was reported.

Cheryl Medlin, 75, was taken to Duke Hospital with a gunshot wound to the forehead; She died Sunday afternoon as a result of her injuries.

Medlin’s daughter, Paula Lee Decoteau, 51, was charged with assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury and second-degree kidnapping. She was also charged with assault on a government official because deputies said she kicked a deputy in the chest during her arrest.

Other people in the home said they heard an argument between Decoteau and the victim followed by a single gunshot. They said, after the shooting, Decoteau took their phones and kept them in the house "while she decided what to do next."

Decoteau allowed them to call 911 after holding them inside a room for 15 to 30 minutes, according to the sheriff's office.

Decoteau was being held in the Orange County Detention Center under a $500,000 bond.

Anyone with information is asked to call Lt. Dawn Hunter, the lead investigator, at 919-245-2907.