Inset: William A. Lippold (St. Johns County Sheriff's Office). Background: The Florida home where Lippold allegedly killed his wife (Google Maps).
A 91-year-old Florida man allegedly spent weeks planning to kill his wife, telling detectives he shot her rather than break a promise never to place her in a nursing home as she suffered from Alzheimer's disease.
William Albert Lippold is charged with premeditated first-degree murder with a firearm in the death of his 87-year-old wife, Mary Lippold, court records show.
According to a probable cause affidavit from the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office, deputies responded to the couple's home on Como Court in St. Augustine shortly after 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, following a 911 call from the couple's son, who reported that his father had killed his mother.
When deputies arrived, they ordered William Lippold and his 63-year-old son, David Lippold, out of the residence. As deputies secured the scene, William allegedly made an unsolicited confession, telling them, "It's not complicated, I shot my wife."
Deputies found Mary Lippold dead on a bed in the master bedroom beside a firearm, a spent shell casing and a note, with blood surrounding her body.
David Lippold told detectives his father had called him that morning and said, "I did something bad, I need you to come over." When he arrived at the house, his father asked him to sit down before telling him he had killed his mother, according to the affidavit.
David Lippold said he then walked into the bedroom and found his mother "obviously deceased" with blood, a gun and a note nearby. He also told investigators that his father said he had tried to kill himself by placing a plastic bag over his head after the shooting but "ultimately couldn't do it."
According to the affidavit, David Lippold explained that his father had been the sole caregiver for his mother.
During a post-Miranda interview, Lippold told detectives he had been planning the killing for about a month.
"William described his wife as blind and having Alzheimer's and that he was her sole caretaker [sic]," the affidavit states. "William said he had previously promised his wife he would never put her in a nursing home, so he views this as keeping his promise to her. William also described text messages and emails he had shared back and forth with his adult children about the stress of the situation."
Lippold allegedly admitted recently purchasing the firearm used in the shooting, going to a firing range to learn how to use it and planning to suffocate himself with a plastic bag afterward, though he said the attempt failed.
The affidavit also states that detectives canvassed the neighborhood and spoke with a resident who reported hearing what sounded like a gunshot around 11 p.m. the previous night.
Neighbors described the couple as well-liked members of the community in interviews with Jacksonville CBS affiliate WJXT.
"Well, she was blind, and frail. And then he started getting even frailer. But they were a really nice couple, and everybody's heart broke," neighbor Bill Meyers told the station. "Everybody in the neighborhood's heart broke because we all loved the guy and we'd do anything for him."
Lippold remained in custody on the murder charge as of Wednesday. Court records did not indicate whether he had retained an attorney or when he was scheduled to appear in court.
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