ST. AUGUSTINE, Florida — A 91-year-old Florida man has been charged with first-degree murder after authorities say he fatally shot his wife, who was blind and had severe Alzheimer’s disease, and told investigators he believed he was keeping a promise never to place her in a nursing home.
St. Johns County deputies responded Aug. 1 after William Albert Lippold’s son called 911. According to the arrest report, Lippold had summoned his son to the home by saying, “I did something bad, I need you to come over.”
Investigators said Lippold admitted shooting his wife and later attempting to take his own life by suffocating himself with a plastic bag. Deputies found his wife dead in a bedroom near a firearm, shell casing and handwritten note.
Lippold had been his wife’s sole caregiver. His son told investigators that his father had previously alluded to such an outcome as her condition worsened. Authorities say Lippold recently purchased the firearm and practiced using it at a gun range.
The sheriff’s report says Lippold told investigators that he had promised his wife he would never place her in institutional care and viewed the shooting as fulfilling that promise.
Lippold was arrested on a charge of premeditated first-degree murder with a firearm. An arrest represents an accusation, and he has not been convicted. The case now moves into Florida’s criminal court system.
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