Partner arrested after mom fatally shot in head: police

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    Mariners Harbor, S.I. (WPIX) — A man has been charged with murder after the mother of one of his children was fatally shot in their Staten Island home earlier this week, authorities confirmed Saturday.

Nikia Webster, 38, was found dead with a gunshot wound to the head early Thursday when officers responded to a 911 call for shots fired in her apartment on South Avenue in Mariners Harbor, police said.

Kevin Smith, 40, was arrested Friday and charged with murder, criminal use of a firearm, and criminal possession of a firearm, according to authorities.

Smith was originally unaccounted for Thursday as an NYPD helicopter, emergency service officers and K-9 units searched the Staten Island neighborhood through the morning.

He shared the home with the victim and was the father of one of the two children in the home when the deadly shooting occurred, police said. It is not confirmed if the couple were married.

Police said Friday they were questioning a person in custody in connection to the killing but would not confirm who it was or their relation to the victim.

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