Elderly Pennsylvania Man Kills 71-Year-Old Wife During Argument, Calls Police 2 Days Later

An elderly man in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, was arrested and charged with murder for killing his wife.

According to the criminal complaint, police responded to a home on the 300 block of North Hanover Street on Friday morning (April 10) after receiving a 911 call from the accused, identified as 69-year-old man Michael Hatfield, saying that he had “hurt” his wife during an argument with her two days ago. The responding officers found the woman, identified as 71-year-old Mary Hatfield, dead in the living room of the home with the body showing signs of decomposition.

When questioned, the accused told the officers that he “strangled her.” He further revealed that he and his wife had an argument Wednesday night (April 8) and in a fit of rage, he picked up an orange extension cord from a closet and strangled her with it while she sat in her recliner. The accused said he strangled her from the back till she stopped moving.

A search warrant was executed on the home during which the officers found the extension cord and a towel covered with blood in the trash can. The accused was taken into custody and charged with murder and possession of an instrument of crime. He remained in Montgomery County Correctional Facility and was denied bail. His preliminary hearing was scheduled for April 17.

Meanwhile, an autopsy confirmed the woman died from strangulation. It also concluded the manner of death to be homicide.

Calling this “a horrible case of the worst end result of domestic violence,” Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin R. Steele said, “People living in domestic violence need to know there is help available, even in these unprecedented times.”

The incident comes less than a month after a Michigan man strangled his wife to death and kept the body in the home for a week. Police responded to a home to check on the couple living there and found 64-year-old Susan Louise Klepsch dead in her bed. The officers questioned 45-year-old Jeff Charles Sherwood who said he strangled his wife to death during an argument that took place a week ago. He was taken into custody from the home and charged with first-degree murder.