ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — A woman has been arrested after her sister was found dead Tuesday afternoon inside a St. Petersburg home.
Charee Howard, 39, was charged with second-degree murder, police said in an update Tuesday evening.
Authorities found her sister dead just before 3:30 p.m. inside a home on Newton Avenue South. She was 54 years old. According to an affidavit, the woman choked her sister with her hands, "inflicting upon the victim mortal wounds."
Howard then called 911 and told dispatch she had just "killed" the woman by choking her, the affidavit says. An official cause of death will be determined by the Medical Examiner.
During a Wednesday court appearance, a judge called Howard's name and a deputy said the woman refused to appear. She is expected in court Thursday.
Police say the two sisters lived together in the house, and no one else was present at the time of the incident.
The investigation is ongoing.