Woman’s Murder Preliminary Is Aug. 14

Elizabeth Nicole Stewart

A 26-year-old Gore women will have a preliminary hearing on a murder charge at 1:30 p.m. Aug. 14 in Sequoyah County District Court in Sallisaw.

Elizabeth Nicole Stewart was charged with first degree murder-deliberate intent, on May 22, in regard to the shooting death of her boyfriend, Joshua Tucker.

Stewart entered a not guilty plea to the charge on May 24 and was released from jail on a $100,000 bond on May 29, according to court records.

On Oct. 26, at a residence north of Gore, Joshua Tucker was found lying in a neighbor’s driveway with a single gunshot wound to the abdomen. He was transported to a Tulsa hospital where he later died from the gunshot wound.

The arrest warrant states that witnesses reported Stewart had a history of being aggressive and abusive toward Tucker. 

On the evening of Oct. 25, according to the arrest affidavit, Stewart and Tucker had a physical altercation over Tucker spending their last money for drugs, leaving no money for Stewart to buy gas to go to work. Stewart admitted she initiated this physical altercation. She stated she became aggressive and slapped and hit Tucker a couple of times. 

Tucker was shot at point blank distance, according to the medical examiner.

Stewart told investigators that she had not handled or shot a gun for about two days prior to the incident. Gun shot residue (GSR) samples came back as positive indication for GSR on Stewart’s person.

A search of the outside and inside area around the couple’s trailer did not produce any hand guns on the property. On Dec. 3, 2017, Stewart notified authorities that she and her father found a semi-automatic pistol in a tote box under the trailer. Investigators located the gun, and tests determined the spent round was confirmed to be shot from the semi-automatic gun that Stewart alerted authorities about.

Investigators also discovered, according to the arrest affidavit, that Stewart could not be accounted for at her workplace at Cherokee Casino Sallisaw for a 52-minute span of time that directly correlated to the time of death, as determined by the medical examiner.

Sally Maxwell, Senior News Director

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