TULSA, Okla. — Court documents indicate attorneys for a man accused of shooting his elderly wife to death in their south Tulsa home last month plan to claim he did not realize he was shooting at his wife.

Charles Bradley pleaded not guilty to the first-degree murder charge he faces after police say he shot and killed his wife, Sandra, inside their home near 71st and Sheridan in the early morning hours of May 2.

“When police showed up they had weapons drawn and they were going through the backyard through the gate real fast,” one of Bradley’s neighbors, who asked to only be identified as Brad, told FOX23 in May.

He saw the crime scene unfolding right outside his window around 4 a.m.

“Just a scary situation,” he said. “As soon as he came out his front door they searched him real good to see if he was okay and immediately handcuffed him.”

In a hearing Thursday morning, FOX23 learned the state is still waiting to get the final report from the medical examiner, which will detail exactly how they believe Sandra died.

Tulsa Police previously told FOX23 that Sandra, who was in her 70s, had been shot to death.

Officers said Bradley initially called and told them he found his wife dead in their house. After they arrived on scene, police said Bradley changed his story.

“I might have killed her,” is what officers on scene told FOX23 Bradley said to them when they arrived.

But a May 16 Motion For Bond Reduction filed by Bradley’s attorneys claims Bradley did not mean to shoot his wife.

“This was a tragic case of an older man, who is 100% disabled, being awoken during the night, horribly confused and overreacting in the worst way to what he perceived in the dark,” the motion says. It goes on to detail Bradley is a Vietnam veteran, and is “devastated” by what happened.

It says he has “loving relatives” who will help “support his much needed emotional recovery.”

Bradley was able to be released in May after posting $70,000 of his $1 million bond. His release is under the stipulation that he have no contact with the Sandra’s family, including her children. It’s unclear if Bradley is the father of her children.

It also requires him to wear a tracking device, and obey a curfew.

His next appearance in court will be July 28.

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