From 75-Year-Old Arkansan ‘At Her Wits’ End’ Says She Killed Husband While He Slept (Associated Press, 10/6/08):
BENTONVILLE, Ark. — A 75-year-old woman told police she was “at her wits’ end” when she shot her husband to death as he was sleeping.
Myrtle Marie Walter was being held Monday without bond in the Benton County jail on a capital murder charge in the slaying of Paul Walter, 74, at their home in Rogers.
She told police she and her husband had been drinking Friday night and she had four or five beers. She said her husband wanted to have sex but she did not want to, and she could no longer tolerate the mental abuse, according to court records.
She retrieved a loaded gun, returned to the bedroom and shot her husband once, then fired two more times when she saw him move, court documents say. Rogers police arrested her Saturday and recovered a .357-caliber revolver that was on the bed.
Myrtle Walker told police she aimed at her husband’s head, but did not know where she shot him because the bedroom light was off, according to court documents. She said her husband was asleep, lying face down. She said she was sorry for shooting him, but relieved he was gone, according to court documents.
Sunday, Myrtle Walter appeared for a bond hearing at the jail. She said she was retired and has lived in Rogers for 45 years. Her attorney, Kim Webber, asked the court to set a reasonable bond, saying Myrtle Walter was a mother of five, a grandmother and a great-grandmother.
Webber said Myrtle Walter was not a flight risk and has “nowhere else to go.” Webber said Myrtle Walter was not a danger to herself or anyone else in the community.
Two of Walter’s daughters attended the hearing.
Deputy Prosecutor Stephanie McLemore cited the seriousness of the crime and requested that Myrtle Walter be held without bond.
On the evening of the shooting, Laura Tucker, Myrtle Walter’s daughter, came to the home after receiving a call from her mother, according to an affidavit in the case. Police responded to a call at 2:35 a.m. Saturday from Tucker who said her mother had been in an accident.
Police found Paul Walter dead. He was shot three times, one bullet grazed his face and the other two were in the shoulder and neck region.
Gotta love the murderess’ attorney, who assures us that “Myrtle Walter was not a danger to herself or anyone else in the community.” Oh, she blew her sleeping husband’s head off, but the lawyer is correct that odds certainly are less than 50-50 that she’ll murder anyone else in the near future.
We’ll see if she gets off. No doubt Paul Walter is going to have his character trashed. He probably never raised a hand against his wife, but he certainly will have done so now.
To learn more about the Mary Winkler case, see my co-authored column No child custody for husband-killer Mary Winkler (World Net Daily, 9/14/07), or click here.
Thanks to Chad, a reader, for sending the story.