An Alabama woman accused of gunning down her husband on New Year's Day made a shocking claim about the fatal shooting in a jailhouse interview.
Genesis Patricia Tanksley, 27, dropped her husband, Lazarus Tanksley, at the hospital and then drove away after he was fatally shot in the chest, according to the Mobile County Sheriff's Office.
Witnesses reported that Tanksley fatally shot her husband during an argument, but she claimed that another person was responsible.
Tanksley told WKRG that she was 'wrongly accused by law enforcement' and a mystery man had shot her husband.
'There was a guy that was there, I noticed him,' Tanksley told the outlet, describing the person as around 5-foot-8 with a darker complexion.
She recalled that the stranger had attempted to get into the backseat of her car asking for a ride.
'Lazarus came to the right side of the door, and then he opened it. Then pow! The gun went off,' she claimed.
Tanksley said that she knew right away that her husband was dead, saying he was 'already shaking' and that she could 'see his soul leaving his body.'
Genesis Patricia Tanksley, 27, was charged with murdering her husband, Lazarus Tanksley. She said that she was 'wrongly accused by law enforcement' and that a stranger had killed 'the love of her life'
Tanksley, who claimed she 'doesn't have what it takes to kill anyone,' said she wanted justice for the killing
'There was a guy that was there, I noticed him,' Tanksley said from jail, as she recalled that a stranger had attempted to get into the backseat of her car asking for a ride. 'Lazarus came to the right side of the door, and then he opened it. Then pow! The gun went off'
It was then that witnesses helped put her husband's body in the back of her car to drive him to hospital.
Tanksley said that one true detail from the sheriff's office was that she had left him at the hospital and drove away because 'Lazarus was dead.'
Tanksley claimed she drove back to the scene to gather evidence before heading to the home of her father, Andre Carstarphen, to tell him what happened.
Carstarphen said that he 'immediately shut down' after Tanksley told him what happened.
'I can't; I don't want to hear it; I can't take this,' he told WKRG, noting that the news of his son-in-law's passing was too devastating for him to process.
Carstarphen recalled that he knew immediately that his daughter would be accused when deputies knocked on his door.
'You're going to be locked up tonight, and you are going to be accused of murder,' he said. 'This man right here, that detective is going to say that you have done it.'
Tanksley was adamant that she was telling the truth. 'Oh yeah, that's what happened,' she told WKRG.
Detectives referred to the two as exes in court, but family members say they were married. Tanksley, however, had hinted on social media that the two were discussing divorce
Tanksley said that she knew right away that her husband was dead and recalled that he was 'already shaking' and she could 'see his soul leaving his body'
The couple have two young children, one being only a few months old
She said she wanted justice for the killing and that she doesn't have 'what it takes to kill anyone let alone her husband' who is 'the love of her life.'
The couple have two young children, one being only a few months old, WKRG reported.
Detectives referred to the two as exes in court, but family members said they were married. Tanksley had hinted on social media that the two were discussing divorce.
On January 3, her bond was set at $150,000 and she remains in custody. Tanksley is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on January 16.
