Florida’s Levy County is rattled after cops say Laura Hawks, 55, gunned down her ex-husband with his own handgun in a showdown fueled by years of turmoil.

According to authorities, Laura claimed she snagged Jason Hawks’ trusty revolver the day before the deadly confrontation, bracing herself for trouble. 

All hell broke loose when Jason, 48, allegedly stormed into the Williston home they once shared, arms reaching out—with murder, Laura feared, in his eyes. As he advanced, Laura whipped out the hidden weapon and fired, later insisting to detectives, “It was either him or me.” 

An unidentified teen inside the house stumbled upon Jason’s lifeless body and dialed 911, setting off the investigation. Cops discovered that Laura and Jason’s relationship was marked by a long, ugly history of domestic violence. According to the police report, Laura admitted she stashed Jason’s revolver under a pillow and unleashed several rounds as he entered the bedroom.

WCJB reports Laura told officers she fired a shot to Jason’s stomach, then fired off several more, allegedly to “end his suffering.” But that wasn’t the end of this dramatic crime scene. Police say Jason Hawks spent hours bleeding out while Laura remained nearby, offering him water and tea—choosing not to call 911 or seek help in his dying moments. The official press release notes Laura went so far as to cover Jason’s remains with clothes to hide the carnage.

And in a jaw-dropping twist, Laura reportedly confessed to detectives her plan to bury Jason in the backyard—a desperate bid to outmaneuver arrest—before the juvenile’s discovery derailed her scheme. 

Now, Laura Hawks faces a stack of charges: first-degree murder, failing to alert authorities to Jason’s death, and tampering with evidence. She’s locked up in Levy County Jail and won’t be seeing freedom anytime soon—no bond for this alleged killer.