QUITMAN, Texas (AP) - An East Texas man has been charged in the 2007 shooting deaths of his wife and stepson at the family's home near Quitman (KWIT'-man).

Wood County Sheriff's Chief Deputy Debbie Foster says 38-year-old Jason Payne of Quitman was jailed Tuesday on two counts of murder.

Foster told The Associated Press that Payne was arrested Saturday in Nacogdoches (na-kuh-DOH'-chis).

She had no details on an attorney for Payne, whose bond totals $200,000.

The sheriff's department initially reported Payne said he returned home and found the bodies of his 35-year-old wife, Nicole Payne, and her 16-year-old son, Austin Taylor Wages.

Investigators believe the victims were slain Dec. 11. There were no signs of struggle in the house.

Foster says the man and woman may have been separated, but they still shared the same residence.

Quitman is about 80 miles east of Dallas.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
AP-NY-09-30-08 1433EDT