11/22/2010 // WPB, FL, USA // Personal Injury Lawyers News // Nicole Howley
Seal Beach, CA—An 88-year-old man was arrested after he shot and killed his dementia-stricken wife at her nursing home, in what relatives are calling a “mercy kill.” The shooting occurred at the Country Villa Healthcare Center in Southern California at around noon on Sunday, November 21, 2010, as reported by USA Today.
The California Highway Patrol (CHP), Orange County Sheriff’s Department and three local police departments rushed to the nursing home, where they found the 86-year-old Clara Laird dead from a single gunshot wound to the head.
Her husband, Roy Charles Laird, was found in a nearby chair with a .38 caliber revolver in his pocket. He reportedly gave police officers no trouble when they arrested him.
The couple’s daughter, Kathy Palmateer, 68, told the Los Angeles Times, that they were just one month shy of celebrating their 70th anniversary. She believes the shooting was a “mercy killing,” by her father who has taken on the task of bathing and feeding her mother who was suffering from dementia and was deteriorating.
Reportedly, Roy reluctantly agreed to check Clara into the Country Villa three months ago, after she became unable to walk, sit up in a wheelchair, feed herself or recognize those around her. “Her mind was gone,” stated Palmateer.
Prosecutors are expected to decide on charges this week.
Legal News Reporter: Nicole Howley-Legal news for California criminal lawyers.
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