On the way to Oklahoma from her home — 45 miles from the Gulf Coast — Cox had a wreck. She suffered two concussions and was treated at a hospital emergency room.

“I could not get my head to stop hurting the entire time I was there,” Cox said.

When asked about her relationship with her husband’s wife, Cox said, “I just kept it sweet and kind.” Allen, 66, kept a former husband’s last name when she married Williams, Cox explained.

Williams called Cox and told her was leaving Allen and was headed to his daughter’s home in Louisiana. When he did not show up as planned, Cox called Oklahoma and learned he had been killed.

“At that moment, I fell to my knees and screamed so loud people across the street heard me,” Cox said. “The next four or five days, I went through a gamut of emotions.”

Allen is being held in the Cotton County Jail in Walters. Her first court appearance is scheduled for Monday, June 9.

Clark, the assistant district attorney, said Allen is charged with second-degree murder, which, upon conviction, carries a penalty of 10 years to life in prison.

Clark said the charge against Allen possibly could change to first-degree murder. Oklahoma has a death penalty.

As to Allen’s $1 million bond, Clark said, “It was appropriate in this case.”

Bond, he said, is set to ensure a suspect’s appearance in court and for the protection of the community. “She has admitted to shooting him with a 12-gauge shotgun,” Clark said, pointing out that bond is sometimes denied in homicide cases.

Someone who usually functions on an even keel, Cox is experiencing emotional ups and downs as a result of her father’s death.

After years of estrangement, Cox was excited about her relationship with her father. She was experiencing the joys of cooking through him.

Cox did not learn to cook until recent years. She would call her father from a meat market and ask him what cut of meat to buy. When she arrived at home with her purchase, she would call Williams, who would talk her through preparation of the dish.

Williams’ daughter is grateful for her renewed relationship with her father after decades of little or no communication. She is experiencing the grief that accompanies the death of a parent, this time a violent end at the hands of someone she knows.

While discussing her father’s life and death with local and state law enforcement officers and a district attorney, Cox is making arrangements for his Saturday funeral in Thomas County.