Richard James Hoesing, Perry, Iowa man, kills his chronically ill wife ‘to put her out of her misery’ as he is now charged with first degree murder.
Define humane? An Iowa man is facing murder charges after telling police he killed his unwell wife to put her out of her misery.
Richard James Hoesing, 75, called police Sunday evening to a residence in Perry, northwest of Des Moines to report he had killed his wife, Jean, who lived at the residence with him.
Officers responded to the scene and found the victim deceased inside the couple’s home. They say her throat was cut. Court documents show Hoesing said his wife suffered from bipolar disorder and multiple sclerosis and that he was ‘putting her out of her misery.’
‘I am probably going to go to jail,’ Hoesing is alleged to have told responding officers as he led them to them to the bedroom where they found his deceased wife.
The incident left neighbors shocked according to KCCI.
‘I had no idea any of this was happening,’ neighbor, Kathy Vodenik, told the outlet. ‘They were very nice people.’
Adding, ‘the ambulance had been there a few times last week. I knew there were health issues over there.’
Police say Hoesing cooperated with police and was detained before being charged with first-degree murder later Sunday evening. Perry police stated it believed the episode to be an isolated incident. The case continued to remain under investigation, police said.
‘The way it seemed to be acted out wasn’t very humane,’ Perry Police Chief Archer told KCCI.
Not immediately clear is who bore the cost of the sick woman’s medical treatment along with the degree and nature of ongoing elderly care, if any.
