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Woman accused of killing a man who impregnated her girlfriend

 
Priscilla Houck, 38, is charged with first-degree murder.
Priscilla Houck, 38, is charged with first-degree murder.
Published March 3, 2017

Before he was shot dead outside his home in 2015, authorities say, Christopher Wayne Rotenberger was in a longtime relationship with a woman who was carrying their child.

The girlfriend, Stephanie Dalrymple, also was carrying on an intimate relationship with another woman at the time, according to the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office.

Deputies say that in the days before Rotenberger's death, the other woman, Priscilla "Dawn" Houck, obtained a gun and plotted to kill him. They say she carried out that plan about 3:30 a.m. Nov. 11, 2015, outside the home at 8640 Flamevine Ave. near Seminole.

Rotenberger, then 24, died at the scene. On Thursday, nearly 16 months after the shooting, deputies arrested Houck, 38, of St. Petersburg on a charge of first-degree murder.

Houck was identified as a suspect after deputies learned she got into a fight with Rotenberger before his death, according to an arrest report. Sheriff's Office spokesman Sgt. Spencer Gross said Houck and Rotenberger were acquaintances.

The report said Houck searched on the Internet for how to buy a gun without a background check days before the murder. According to the report, she met with someone who sold her a gun for $200, which Houck paid for with $20 bills.

Phone and bank records show that about a half-hour after speaking with the gun seller, Houck withdrew $200 from her bank account using her ATM card, according to the report.

The seller informed law enforcement about selling Houck the gun, the report said. He later contacted Houck and told her he was afraid he would be linked to the gun used in the murder, the report said. Houck reportedly told him not to worry because the gun was gone.

Houck's roommates said she told them to provide an alibi for her during the time frame of the killing because she was not home at that time.

The arrest report said Houck told a witness that Rotenberger had been shot before any information regarding his cause of death was released.

Records show Houck has a nonviolent criminal history with fraud and traffic-related charges.

Gross said Dalrymple, now 24 and living in St. Petersburg, has not been criminally charged. He said he was not able to disclose any more information because the investigation is still active.

Times researcher Caryn Baird contributed to this report. Contact Colleen Wright at cwright@tampabay.com or (727) 893-8643. Follow @Colleen_Wright.