Mar. 8—Shocked is how some Houndslake residents are feeling after a man was arrested and charged with killing his 70-year-old wife.

"Yeah, we were really surprised because we didn't really know him well and it's really sad," Houndslake resident Peyton Taylor said.

Ruth Ann Whitaker, 70, of Aiken, was found shot at a residence in the 1400 block of Woodbine Road on Tuesday.

Police arrested her husband, Robert Whitaker, 70. He was charged with murder and possession of a weapon during a violent crime for the shooting.

Whitaker is listed as an inmate at the Aiken County detention center and has no bond.

Taylor has lived in Houndslake for a little over 18 months and was surprised because when she typically sees police cars, it is for a medical emergency.

"I didn't know either of them, but I think my husband said he spoke with the husband (Whitaker) a couple of times and said he was pretty nice," Taylor said.

Neighbors told her they heard gunshots coming from the Whitaker residence.

"I think generally it's a very safe neighborhood," Taylor said. "I haven't experienced anything funky like this (shooting) at all."

Another resident, Rachel Farmer, was sitting on her porch and thought it was a drug bust or something else after seeing a lot of police cars.

"I was reading and I heard a car come by and it was police, and it was another police car and then I saw the lights," Farmer said.

Farmer said her neighborhood is safe and she leaves her door unlocked, but after the incident she is reconsidering.

"Every time I left my door unlocked, but now it is going to be locked," she said.

Other neighbors spoke of Richard Whitaker as a nice person and said he would be the last person they would suspect to commit the crime.

"It was a domestic situation and it is pretty tragic," Aiken City Council member Kay Brohl, who represents the area, said.

Brohl has lived in the Houndslake area for 30 years but said she didn't personally know the Whitakers.

"I do know the police will get to the bottom of it and find out all the background," Brohl said.

Residents like Taylor said the neighborhood feels safe even with a recent tragedy, but she made sure she checked on her neighbors after the shooting.

"I am not really freaking out and it's obviously really sad and devastating," she said.