Inset: Joseph Scrofne (Sumner County Sheriff's Office). Background: The area near where Scrofne killed his wife in Portland, Tenn. (Google Maps).
An octogenarian Tennessee man will spend the rest of his life behind bars for killing his octogenarian wife because he was worried about the quality of life she would endure as she got older.
Earlier this week, Joseph Anthony Scrofne, 83, was convicted of murder in the first degree over the death of his 81-year-old wife, Linda "Carole" Scrofne, prosecutors announced in a press release.
The investigation began in January 2025, when Joseph Scrofne called 911 to report finding his wife dead at the couple's home in Portland — a small city located some 40 miles northeast of Nashville.
"He initially claimed that she had fallen during the night," the Sumner County District Attorney's Office said. "Investigators, however, observed injuries that were inconsistent with his explanation and continued their investigation."
Chief among those suspicious injuries were bruises on the victim's neck and blood on her face, the Gallatin News reported at the time.
The next day, law enforcement received word about the defendant possibly being suicidal and met him at his residence as he arrived.
Then, during a follow-up interview with a Sumner County Sheriff's Office detective, the defendant came clean about "the decision" to kill his wife, according to law enforcement.
When asked if he had hurt his wife, Joseph Scrofne replied, "Yes." Then, when asked what, exactly, he did to her, he said, "I strangled her."
The defendant then elaborated on his efforts.
"He admitted that he first attempted to smother her with a pillow," the press release goes on. "When she fought back, Scrofne retrieved a rope and strangled her."
Then, the admitted killer told the detective why he did it.
"In explaining his actions to investigators, Scrofne expressed his belief that his wife would ultimately be placed in a nursing home, where, as he described it, she would be given oatmeal until she died," the press release continues.
Initial reports offer more details from that conversation.
"I might as well kill this b— right now," the man told the detective. "I was going to murder her and suicide on me."
Not entirely unlike unrepentant, the defendant said he hoped that he did not have to go to jail "for doing his family a favor," Law&Crime previously reported.
The quality of life excuse for the slaying apparently came later.
After a three-day trial in which prosecutors presented the admission and the stated motive, jurors found Joseph Scrofne guilty as charged.
In quick fashion, he was sentenced by Sumner County Circuit Court Judge Jennifer S. Nichols to mandatory life imprisonment.