Barton Seltmann, Lower Pottsgrove, Pennsylvania man beats wife, Margaret Seltmann to death over veterinary cat bill.
An 84 year old Pennsylvania man is accused of beating his wife to death during an argument over a veterinary bill for their cat.
Barton Seltmann, 84, called 911 around 2:30 p.m. Tuesday to report that someone had ransacked his Lower Pottsgrove home — and that his wife appeared dead after the intruder ‘beat her,’ according to an affidavit obtained by NBC Philadelphia.
First responders found Margaret Seltmann, 85, on the kitchen floor ‘obviously deceased’ from blunt force injuries to the head, the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office said in a statement.
‘You’re killing me’
Respondents discovered the husband on the back porch — with ‘blood on his hands, face, and clothing,’ the DA’s office explained.
The octogenarian later told police in interviews that he and his wife were fighting over money for the veterinary care of their pet cat, the affidavit stated.
The husband said the argument turned physical, with wife, Margaret Seltmann allegedly grabbing a knife and threatening to kill him.
Seltmann claimed then grabbing a chair and shoving the legs at his wife, who fell and hit her head on the floor. He then repeatedly punched her and struck her on the head with a candleholder, according to the affidavit.
Margaret allegedly warned her husband, ‘You’re killing me’ — and then ‘went to sleep,’ the probable cause affidavit said.
Investigators found a small kitchen knife and shards of glass from a candle jar underneath the woman’s body.
Seltmann was subsequently charged with first- and third-degree murder and was remanded to the Montgomery County Correctional Facility without bail, online records show.
He has not requested a public defender.
Their cat is now being cared for by a family member, the DA’s Office confirmed in a Facebook comment.
The suspect may have been experiencing memory loss in the weeks before the killing, and his wife had even expressed concerns that he was suffering from dementia, relatives told WPVI-TV.
‘In the last five or six weeks, Margaret said he was suffering from dementia, he wasn’t remembering things. Like if he went somewhere, he wasn’t remembering where he was at and things and she was concerned about it,’ Barton’s sister-in-law Sandy Seltmann explained.
Barton’s brother, Ron Seltmann, said Margaret and Barton appeared to be happy, and had been married for over 30 years.
Barton even built their Lower Pottsville home from the ground up, he told WPVI.
‘There was no warning that this kind of thing could happen. None. This just tore us apart,’ Ron lamented.
