Husband arrested in wife’s shooting death

A Shawnee man scheduled to appear in court today on a misdemeanor domestic abuse charge for allegedly striking his wife in June is now jailed on a first-degree murder complaint for her Tuesday shooting death.
Edwin Leroy Scoby, 48, was jailed without bond Wednesday at the Pottawatomie County Public Safety Center.
Shawnee Police Lt. Russell Frantz said Scoby’s wife, Nina Scoby, 48, died Tuesday morning. She was shot about 3 a.m. at their home, 2525 N. Park, court records show.
As the investigation unfolded Tuesday, police said they were interviewing a person of interest; detectives arrested Edwin Scoby about 6:15 p.m., according to an affidavit.
The couple, who’ve been married less than six months, applied for a marriage license in Pottawatomie County on Valentine’s Day, records show. At the time, Nina E. Johnson had a home address in Ulysses, Kan., while Scoby’s home address was in Shawnee.
Kevin Rowland, chief investigator at the state medical examiner’s office in Oklahoma City, said doctors determined Nina Scoby’s cause of death was a gunshot wound to the head, with the manner of death being homicide.
An apparent domestic-related incident led to the shooting, which occurred in the bedroom of the couple’s home where they’ve resided the past four months, Frantz said. Police reports show this wasn’t the first time police responded to a disturbance there.
A probable cause affidavit filed in this case shows Shawnee Officer Kimberly Dibble responded to the home for a shots fired call early Tuesday morning.
The male caller told dispatchers his wife shot herself and tried to shoot him, the affidavit shows. Officer Dibble arrived and found Nina Scoby’s body in a bedroom. She was pronounced dead at the scene by REACT EMS personnel and then a medical examiner came to the home. A .44-caliber revolver was recovered by police, according to court papers.
Nina Scoby was found in bed with a gunshot wound to her cheek. Police interviewed Edwin Scoby, the affidavit shows, and his statements were inconsistent with physical evidence at the scene, with the affidavit alleging he was the only person in the home with the deceased.
“Edwin Scoby’s first statement is that Nina Scoby shot herself. Later Edwin Scoby stated he struggled with Nina Scoby over the gun. Edwin Scoby said the gun accidentally discharged,” the affidavit shows. “Evidence at the scene appears to indicate tampering with the body of Nina Scoby and the crime scene.”
The affidavit alleges Edwin Scoby has a history of domestic violence and violent crime, and also shows he is a convicted felon who had a handgun in the residence. He has failure to appear warrants for cases in Stephens County and Seward County in Kansas, the court filing shows.
Edwin Scoby has pending DUI and domestic abuse charges here.
According to Pottawatomie County court records, Edwin Scoby was charged June 25 with misdemeanor domestic abuse/assault and battery and is scheduled to appear in court on that matter today. Charges allege he is accused of unlawfully striking his wife by hitting her in the head and face with force and violence June 17. A police report shows officers responded to a domestic disturbance at the couple’s home, where Nina Scoby told officers her husband hit her; officers observed bruising and swelling on Nina Scoby.
“Nina stated that Edwin is very abusive toward her and that there is a history of violence in their relationship,” the June 17 police report reads. Her husband wasn’t home when police arrived but returned later. In their narrative, officers noted Scoby was intoxicated and had an abrasion on his face that he said came from his wife, although she told police she was pushing him away when he assaulted her, the report shows. He was arrested and spent five days in jail before posting a $3,000 bond in the case. The police report shows Nina Scoby was provided contact information for Project Safe, Shawnee’s domestic violence women’s shelter.
Further court records show Edwin Scoby was arrested on an unrelated matter July 15 after alleging hitting several parked cars with his vehicle in the 100 block of East Pulaski. He was charged July 22 with driving a motor vehicle while under the influence, a felony, and driving with suspended license, a misdemeanor, in connection with that incident.
Along with those two pending cases in Pottawatomie County, Edwin Scoby has three prior convictions from 2001 — two in Stephens County and one in Woodward County — all for driving a motor vehicle while under the influence, court records show.
Formal charges have not been filed against Edwin Scoby in connection with his wife’s death. Shawnee detectives are still investigating the case, which will be referred to the district attorney’s office for consideration of charges.
Court records show Edwin Scoby has alias names of Leroy Edwin Scoby, Ed Keeseecker and Warren Lamont Keeseecker.
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Kim Morava may be reached at 214-3962 or kimberly.morava @ news-star.com.