An Indianapolis woman is accused of covering up her husband’s murder by claiming he sexually assaulted her for hours.

Prosecutors announced Monday they charged Vickie Harper with murder in the death of her 53-year-old husband, Jerry Eldridge, news station WTHR reported.

Authorities responded to their home on July 9, 2017, and found Eldridge suffering from a gunshot wound to the chest. He was pronounced dead by paramedics shortly after they arrived.

Harper, 52, claimed she shot him in self-defense after he came home angry and sexually assaulted her over the course of several hours. She said he threatened to kill her and ripped off her clothing.

In a police interview, she said he responded defiantly when she confronted him with a gun, claiming he sat down on the couch and smiled at her with his hands behind his head.

Harper told investigators she didn’t mean to fire the weapon but the “hair trigger” didn’t require much force, the Indianapolis Star reported.

The multi-agency investigation, however, revealed that Eldridge may have been sleeping when he was shot since his face appeared relaxed. Harper’s clothes also seemed to have been cut instead of ripped as she claimed, according to police.

Text messages sent from the couple’s phones also contradicted her narrative, the newspaper reported.

Following the nine-month probe, Harper was arrested and charged with one count of murder. She is being held in custody without bond.