An elderly Pennsylvania man is accused of beating his wife to death during an argument over their pet cat.
Barton Seltmann, 84, called 911 around 2:30 Tuesday afternoon to report that someone had ransacked his Lower Pottsgrove home — and that his wife appeared dead after the intruder “beat her,” according to an affidavit obtained by NBC Philadelphia.
First responders found Margaret Seltmann, 85, on the kitchen floor “obviously deceased” from blunt force trauma to the head, the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office explained in a statement.
Her husband was on the back porch — with “blood on his hands, face and clothes,” the DA’s office explained.
The octogenarian later told police in an interview that he and his wife were fighting over money for veterinary care for their pet cat, the affidavit said.
Barton Seltmann is charged with first and third degree murder. Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office
The argument turned physical, and Margaret Seltmann grabbed a knife and threatened to kill her husband, she allegedly told her interviewer.
He then grabbed a chair and shoved a leg at his wife, who fell and hit her head on the floor, he told investigators. He then repeatedly punched her and hit her in the head with a candle holder, according to the affidavit
Margaret allegedly warned her husband “You’re killing me” — and then “went to sleep,” the probable cause affidavit said.
Margaret Seltmann was found beaten to death in her backyard on Tuesday. Family Circulation Seltmann’s husband was on the back porch — with “blood on his hands, face and clothes,” the DA’s office explained. WPVI
Investigators found a small kitchen knife and glass shards from a candle jar under the woman’s body, the outlet said.
Seltmann was later charged with first- and third-degree murder and remanded to the Montgomery County Correctional Facility without bail, according to online records.
He did not ask for a public defender.
Their cats are now being cared for by family members, the DA’s Office confirmed in a Facebook comment.
Barton and Margaret Seltmann got into a fight at their home, they told police. WPVI
The suspect may have suffered from memory loss in the weeks before the murder, and his wife had even expressed concern that he was suffering from dementia, relatives told WPVI-TV.
“In the last five or six weeks, Margaret said she has dementia, she doesn’t remember things. Like if he goes somewhere, he doesn’t remember where he is and stuff and he cares about that,” explained Barton’s sister-in-law, Sandy Seltmann.
Barton’s brother, Ron Seltmann, said Margaret and Barton seemed happy, and had been married for more than 30 years.
Barton’s brother, Ron, and his wife, Sandy, were shocked by the crime. WPVI
Barton also built their Lower Pottsville home from the ground up, he told the outlet.
“There was no warning that something like this could happen. none This just divides us,” Ron lamented.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
