Steven Schwartz, Washington D.C man, 85, kills wife, Sharron following argument over pancakes, with husband stabbing wife in the back after telling her he did not want to eat cause he had an eating aversion.
An elderly Washington, D.C., man was arrested Thursday and charged with killing his wife following an argument over pancakes, federal prosecutors said.
Steven Schwartz, 85, is accused of fatally stabbing his wife, Sharron Schwartz, 81, at their home Sunday, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia said.
Steven Schwartz ‘did not want to eat the pancakes she made and stabbed her in the back,’ the U.S. attorney’s office said in a statement announcing the arrest.
An aversion to food following health episode
Police responded to a report of a stabbing at 3:40 p.m on the 1300 block of Corcoran Street in Northwest, D.C. and found Sharron Schwartz with injuries and Steven Schwartz with self-inflicted injuries, according to the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington and court documents.
Both were taken to a hospital, where Sharron Schwartz died.
Police on the scene reported that Steven was clutching a knife and refused to let go of it until an officer used a taser to subdue him.
According to a police affidavit filed in the district criminal case, Steven Schwartz said that he has an aversion to food, his wife was trying to make him eat, leading to the couple embroiled in a dispute.
The 85 year old husband told police he has a condition of eating diversion and depression. He also said that his wife did not deserve to die and that he wished he had died, according to the police affidavit.
Married for 40 years
The 85-year-old defendant said that he had ‘lost 45-50lbs in the hospital’ in recent months due to physical and psychiatric disorders, the Washington Post reported.
Steven said ‘that his wife wanted him to get back to 180lbs,’ the affidavit reads.
The forlorn husband said he had been recovering from a stroke at the time.
Steven Schwartz following his arrest was charged with second-degree murder while armed, the U.S. attorney’s office said. Superior Court Justice Sherry Trafford, ordered Schwartz held without bail Thursday, it said. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Jan. 2.
The couple according to arresting documents were married for 40 years, with the husband stating that he loved his wife and that he had prayed the killing was a delusion.
