91-Year-Old Man Charged with Murder After Claiming He Kept Promise to Avoid Nursing Home

St. Johns County sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to a St. Augustine home after a neighbor heard a gunshot and a caller reported a fatal shooting. The suspect, 91-year-old William Lippold, informed police that he had killed his 63-year-old wife, who was blind and suffered from severe Alzheimer’s disease, because he had promised never to send her to a nursing home. Lippold also told his son that he tried to end his own life by suffocating with a plastic bag, an attempt that failed.

According to the arrest report, he recently purchased the weapon used and practiced shooting at a nearby range. The victim was found on a bedroom bed with blood, a firearm, a shell casing and a note nearby. Lippold has been charged with first-degree murder with a firearm, an offense that can result in life imprisonment, though his age and health may affect sentencing.