Authorities arrest 74-year-old Santa Fe woman accused of killing her husband

SANTA FE, N.M. — Santa Fe County Sheriff’s detectives arrested a 74-year-old Santa Fe woman Wednesday and charged her with the murder of her husband.

Sheryl Graeb is accused of killing her 74-year-old husband Kenneth Alvin Graeb and shooting a 53-year-old woman during a July 28 incident.

According to a criminal complaint, Santa Fe County Patrol deputies responded to a call July 28 at around 1:39 a.m. about a woman being shot at Haozous Road.

The caller, who identified herself as Sheryl Graeb, stated she did not see the woman who was shot. However, the woman was heard in the background of the call.

Graeb told officers that she and her husband were gathering with the woman and their two neighbors at their home after not seeing them for two years.

According to the woman who was shot, the five individuals consumed multiple bottles of wine through the night and the two neighbors left before the deadly shooting took place.

The woman stated she was getting ready for bed in one of the rooms of Graeb’s house. The woman undressed and was naked when Graeb’s husband, Ken, entered the room and began to "caress" her. The woman asked Ken about what he was doing, then asked him where Sheryl was. Ken called for Sheryl to come into the room.

The woman did not remember much of the rest of the incident but remembered hearing a single gunshot and seeing Ken slumped on top of her. The woman did not remember seeing Sheryl but she knew that Sheryl was the shooter because there were only three individuals in the house at the time.

The woman escaped the house by crawling through the window in the bathroom attached to the guestroom. The woman ran outside and then returned to the house to get some clothes but she did not recall which house.

Deputies observed a gunshot wound to the woman’s right shoulder.

Detectives arrested Graeb on charges of an open count of murder, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and negligent use of a deadly weapon.

Graeb was booked into the Santa Fe County Adult Detention Center.