A first-degree murder case against a 37-year-old Daniels man will go to a Raleigh County grand jury following a preliminary hearing Thursday in magistrate court.

After listening to testimony from sheriff’s Detective Cpl. Jim Bare, Magistrate Greg Tanner found there was probable cause to send Christopher Wayne Bowling’s case to the grand jury.

Bare told Tanner a Raleigh County 911 dispatcher called the Bowling residence after receiving a hang-up call around 11:35 p.m. on Jan. 31.

Bare said Bowling told the dispatcher he had been unloading his handgun and had “somehow” shot his 34-year-old wife, Tresa.

Bare said Bowling was told by the dispatcher to hold a towel against the wound until an ambulance arrived.

Tresa Bowling, who was shot in the temple by her left eye, was still breathing when she arrived at Beckley Appalachian Regional Hospital, but died soon after.

Bowling was not arrested the night of the shooting, but spoke to authorities at the scene as well as at the sheriff’s department.

Bare said Bowling told him he and Tresa had attended the funeral of a “close” friend and afterward had a drink at a bar.

After leaving the bar, Bowling said, he went to a friend’s house where he continued to drink and Tresa went home with the couple’s two young children, Bare testified.

Later that night, according to Bare, Bowling said he got a ride home with a friend and, after drinking another beer, sat down on the couch beside his wife.

Bare said Bowling told him he and Tresa were talking and that she was shot when he took his .380 Kel-Tec handgun from his back pocket holster with the intent to unload it.

The couple’s 8-year-old daughter, Bare said, told authorities she heard her parents talking, but couldn’t tell what was being said until she heard her mother say, “It’s not my fault.”

It was right after that when she said she heard the gunshot.

Bare said Bowling did not appear to be intoxicated, but told the detective he had had 18 beers. Bowling also told him he and Tresa had had their share of problems in the past but said, “today we were fine.”

Bare said although there were no police reports regarding domestic violence, friends and family of Tresa said there were several instances of abuse.

In one case, a State Police trooper said Tresa had told him her husband had held her down to the ground and fired a gun beside her head, threatening to kill her.

Defense attorney Richard Weston pointed out the only petition ever filed was a protective order in which Christopher Bowling alleged his wife abused prescription drugs and alcohol and had driven drunk with the children.

Prosecutor Kristen Keller, however, said no one who knew the couple had ever mentioned anything like that. She said Bowling dropped the petition and within the week was back living with his wife, who was again the primary caregiver.

Bare said there were inconsistencies with Bowling’s story. One of those, he explained, concerned the shell casing. Had Bowling been sitting beside his wife on the couch, the casing should have been found in the opposite direction, Bare testified.

Additionally, Bare said, although Bowling told him he had dropped the gun as soon as he shot his wife, had he been sitting beside Tresa, the location of the gun would have been different.