HIGHLAND, Ind. (CBS) — A 26-year-old Highland, Ind., man has been charged in the murder of his girlfriend, who was found shot in the face earlier this week in the apartment they shared.

As WBBM Newsradio’s Mike Krauser reports, Douglas Anthony Smith and Jacqueline Williams, according to witness statements, had a volatile relationship. Their fights sometimes turned violent.

LISTEN: WBBM Newsradio’s Mike Krauser reports

Police say this past Saturday morning, Smith and Williams were seen drinking and having a profanity-laden argument at a bar. Williams didn’t show up for her shift at work that was supposed to start at 10:30 p.m. Sunday evening, and her co-workers called police soon afterward.

Williams’ co-workers were present Monday night at her apartment when Smith’s mother arrived. Williams had been found shot in the left eye at close range as she lay at the foot of her bed at the apartment in the 2600 block of 40th Place in Highland.

Smith’s mother told police her son had left her a voice mail about 9:30 p.m. asking her to check on Williams and stating he was in Florida and on his way back to Indiana.

In an interview with police, Smith’s mother indicated her son had called her Monday evening very upset and crying and said “it was an accident,” that he wanted to kill himself and said he planned to surrender but was in Florida. He told his mother he’d called Highland police from a bar and told them to go to 2611 40th Place, said thank you and hung up.

A witness at Franco’s Bar said a regular customer came in, asked to use the phone, recited an address, said thank you and left.

At the duplex, police found an empty box for a .357-Magnum revolver and six bullets missing from a box of ammunition. Police also recovered a spent bullet.

Smith now stands charged with murder.

The Northwest Indiana Post-Tribune contributed to this report, via the Sun-Times Media Wire.