Officers ID slain man; wife remains in custody

HOT SPRINGS — Police on Thursday identified the victim of a fatal shooting Wednesday at 2216 Malvern Ave. in Hot Springs.

Slain was Brian Paul Hageness, 61, whose wife, Elizabeth Digiacomo Hageness, 57, is charged with first-degree murder in the case, according to officers.

Elizabeth Hageness admitted to officers at the shooting scene that she had shot her husband, according to an affidavit released Thursday.

Hageness, who could face up to life in prison if convicted on the murder charge, was being held without bail Thursday and is to appear today in Garland County District Court.

The affidavit states that at 1:40 p.m. Wednesday, officers went to the residence on Malvern Avenue after receiving a 911 call about someone being shot. Upon arrival, officers found Brian Hageness suffering from an apparent gunshot wound.

Elizabeth Hageness approached the officers and told them that she shot her husband, the affidavit states.

LifeNet personnel at the scene could be seen performing CPR on a man as a gurney was lifted into the ambulance. Brian Hageness was later pronounced dead at a Hot Springs hospital, according to a Thursday news release.

Officers learned that the shooting situation began as a domestic disturbance involving the Hagenesses, the release said.

One neighbor, who said she was home at the time of the shooting, told The Sentinel-Record on Wednesday that she saw three police officers with weapons drawn, instructing a man to exit the house and to keep his hands clearly visible.

“He backed [up] to them, and they put him in handcuffs. Then, Beth, the woman who stays in that white house, she ran and tried to tell them to stop or something, and they handcuffed her. That’s all that I caught,” the neighbor said.

According to court records, Elizabeth Hageness has no criminal history other than for traffic violations and parking tickets. She filed for divorce from Brian Hageness in 2016, and noted in her complaint that they had been separated and living apart since May 3, 2012.

In 2018, Elizabeth Hageness filed a motion to dismiss the divorce complaint, and the case was dismissed on Feb. 27, 2018.