75-year-old man kills wife violently to ‘put her out of her misery,’ Iowa cops say
An Iowa man killed his wife, who he said had multiple illnesses, then called 911, according to police.
Authorities responded to a home shortly after 8:30 p.m. March 16 after receiving a 911 call from a man who said he killed another person who lived there with him, according to a March 17 news release from the Perry Police Department.
Officers learned that 75-year-old Richard James Hoesing made the call, police said.
Hoesing told 911 dispatchers he killed his wife, Jean Hoesing, “to put her out of her misery,” WHO reported, citing a criminal complaint.
The man told officers his wife had multiple sclerosis and a bipolar condition, the outlet reported.
Police found Jean dead inside the home with a laceration across her throat, The Perry News reported.
A kitchen knife was found in the home’s bathroom with possible blood stains on the tip, WHO reported.
Hoesing was cooperative with authorities and taken into custody without incident, police said.
He is charged with murder and booked at the Dallas County Jail, authorities said.
This story was originally published March 17, 2025 at 4:10 PM with the headline "75-year-old man kills wife violently to ‘put her out of her misery,’ Iowa cops say."
