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Joseph Scrofne (Sumner County Sheriff’s Office).
An octogenarian Tennessee man is behind bars after admittedly killing his wife earlier this week, according to Volunteer State authorities.
Joseph Scrofne, 81, stands accused of one count of murder in the first degree, according to Sumner County Sheriff’s Office records.
The case against the defendant for the death of Linda Scrofne, 80, came together relatively quickly, investigators say.
The man who allegedly self-widowed would make himself known to law enforcement the day after his wife was found dead but not confess to her murder. At least not at first.
On Monday, a detective responded to a call about a death investigation on Meadows Road in Portland – a medium-sized city located roughly 40 miles northeast of Nashville.
Several deputies reportedly had concerns about the woman’s death and the ensuing investigation due to bruising on her neck and blood on the side of her face, according to arrest documents obtained by Nashville-based ABC affiliate WKRN.
Suspicions were roused; the next day came.
And with it, another call.
This time, the call came into 911 dispatch. The defendant had allegedly expressed some suicidal thoughts, according to court documents. He was allegedly found driving back toward the deceased woman’s home and initially detained for his own safety.
At some point during that first detention, a deputy asked Joseph Scrofne if he had hurt his wife the day before.
The defendant allegedly answered in the affirmative.
“I was going to murder her,” the man allegedly said.
He allegedly added: “I strangled her.”
Asked to further account for his actions, the elderly defendant allegedly said he performed the strangulation with a rope because “she was crazy,” according to the arrest report.
The man allegedly went on to say his wife had repeatedly gotten up in the middle of the night and fallen down.
“Once he got her in the bed, he thought ‘I might as well kill this b––––, right now,” the documents obtained by the TV station read. “I was going to murder her and suicide on me.”
Described as not entirely unlike unrepentant, the defendant allegedly said he hoped that he did not have to go to jail “for doing his family a favor,” according to sheriff’s deputies.
Law&Crime reached out to the Sumner County Sheriff’s Office for additional details on this story, but no response was immediately forthcoming at the time of publication.
The defendant is currently being detained in the Sumner County Jail without bond.