Background: The house on Stone Ridge Drive in Louisville, Nebraska, where authorities found the victim (Google Maps). Inset: Terry Richards (Cass County, Nebraska, Sheriff's Office).
Police officers called to a home in Nebraska were told that a woman had fallen down the stairs, but when they arrived, they found "suspicious circumstances" that led them to arrest her husband.
Terry Richards, 70, has been charged with second-degree murder in the death of 66-year-old Kimberly Richards, as well as assault by strangulation, first-degree assault and tampering with evidence, the Cass County Sheriff's Office announced. The defendant is being held at the Cass County Jail.
On Saturday at about 5 p.m., the Cass County Sheriff's Office was called to a home on Stone Ridge Drive in Louisville, Nebraska, a city some 25 miles southwest of Omaha. Authorities — including emergency responders — received a report about "a woman who had fallen down a flight of stairs and was unresponsive."
The arriving medical workers found Kimberly Richards, and they tried to care for her. However, she was pronounced dead at the home.
The sheriff's office said additional investigation "revealed suspicious circumstances" surrounding the woman's death, though the agency did not specify those alleged circumstances. More investigators, including from the Cass County Attorney's Office, arrived at the scene, and authorities said they gathered evidence that led to Terry Richards' arrest.
Cass County Chief Deputy Matt Watson told regional ABC affiliate KETV that investigators had "more questions" as the investigation continued. The defendant appeared in court Tuesday, and his bond was set at $3 million.
No additional details about what led up to Kimberly Richards' death were shared during Tuesday's hearing, though it was disclosed that Terry Richards pleaded guilty to third-degree assault and served 18 months of probation due to an incident involving a gun in 2016.
Neighbors of the Richardses told the area outlet that they didn't know the couple very well, though one said the defendant was "strange" and that other neighbors warned the family about him when they first moved into their home.
Terry Richards is expected back in court for a competency review on Dec. 8.
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