A Missouri man is accused of shooting and killing his wife and then lighting their home on fire to get rid of the evidence.

Danny Gilworth, aged 72, is facing charges for second-degree murder, second-degree arson, armed criminal action, as well as unlawful weapon use and felony tampering with physical evidence. According to court records, he has pleaded not guilty and is currently being held without bond.

Love true crime? Sign up for our newsletter, The Law&Crime Docket, to get the latest real-life crime stories delivered right to your inbox.

On the morning of May 24, around 10:35 a.m., someone visiting a relative near 810 South 23rd Street in Unionville noticed smoke billowing from a house. As they attempted to enter through the front door, they encountered the homeowner, Gilworth, as described in a Missouri State Highway Patrol probable cause statement.

“Get away from the house,” Gilworth is said to have ordered the witness while pointing a rifle at them. “It’s been a bad day,” he reportedly added.

“I started the damn fire myself,” Gilworth admitted, per the trooper who filed the probable cause statement. The witness then left and called 911.

A few minutes after, a deputy from the Putnam County Sheriff’s office arrived at the scene and observed Gilworth outside holding a rifle, as the report details. Although the suspect complied with commands to drop the weapon, he resisted when the deputy tried to handcuff him, declaring that the deputy “would have to kill him.”

He is said to have eventually complied with commands and was arrested and brought to the Putnam County Jail. It was around this time that family members of Sandra Gilworth, 70, arrived, and told authorities their mother “was most likely in the house.”

After firefighters put the fire out and the Missouri Division of Fire Safety investigated, law enforcement found a dead woman inside the home. “Also while conducting their investigation, the Missouri Division of Fire Safety was able to determine an accelerant was used to ignite the fire,” the court document added.

More from Law&Crime: Doctor found dead in house fire was killed by the husband she was trying to divorce: DA

Days after the fire, Danny Gilworth was charged with second-degree arson and unlawful use of a weapon. On June 18, the complaint against him was amended to include the charge of murder with the knowing use, assistance and aid of a deadly weapon.

The tampering charge was also filed due to the suspect allegedly “altering or destroying” the structure “including the body” of the victim, specifically by arson “with the purpose to impair the availability of evidence for investigation of murder.”

Unionville is located in the northern part of the state, around 9 miles south of the border with Iowa.