A 36-year-old woman, suspecting that her sister was being abused, fatally shot her brother-in-law on Christmas Day near Bemidji, authorities said Monday.

The shooting occurred in the waning moments of Christmas at the residence near the eastern shore of Lake Bemidji, the Beltrami County Sheriff's Office said.

Jesse A. Farris, 48, was declared dead at the scene, having been shot several times, according to the Midwest Medical Examiner's Office.

The woman and her 36-year-old husband, who was there when Farris was shot and allegedly provided the gun to his wife, remain jailed pending charges. The Star Tribune generally does not identify suspects before they are charged.

According to the Sheriff's Office:

About 12:10 a.m. on Saturday, the woman called county dispatch and reported that she shot Farris about an hour earlier at his home on NE. Lavinia Road.

The woman said that she and her husband went to the home to confront Farris "over some alleged domestic abuse" between her sister and Farris, a Sheriff's Office statement read.

An argument turned physical, the woman took a gun that her husband brought with him and shot Farris.

The woman and her husband left the home before alerting law enforcement. Deputies arrived and located the body outside the home.

The wife and husband, who live just west of Bemidji, were booked into jail Saturday.

Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482