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StumbleMan, 86, to plead to lesser crime in wife’s shooting death
Friday, Nov. 13, 2009 | 9:07 a.m.
Sun coverage
An 86-year-old man facing a murder charge for allegedly shooting his wife to death before shooting himself has agreed to plead guilty to a lesser crime, his attorney said today.
At a hearing today in Las Vegas Justice Court, Kristine Kuzemka said her client, Joseph C. Woods, agreed to plead guilty to one count of voluntary manslaughter.
He will likely see a prison term of four to 10 years, Kuzemka said.
Woods, who didn’t appear in court today, waived his right to a preliminary hearing through his attorney so he could enter the guilty plea in District Court.
He suffers from a variety of health problems and has been out of custody and in the care of a local nursing home since Oct. 27.
He is scheduled to appear in District Court on Dec. 2.
Woods is accused of shooting his wife, Kay, then himself Sept. 23 in the bedroom of their home at 1808 S. 10th St. in an attempt to end both of their lives, according to court documents. Both were in ailing health.
The couple's children found them the next morning. Joseph was breathing but Kay was dead, an arrest report indicated.
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There's a big difference between murder and mercy killing, however blunt the method may have been. We treat seniors like dirt in this country, and I doubt most of us relish growing old because of it. There was a time in history when the elderly where the most cherished members of their society. Now, we're all just commodities. If this man and his wife reached a point where they saw this as their only option, it speaks more about us as a society than about them.
What this man did was wrong: But the problem here is that are society spends to much time on being YOUNG' PRETTY' AND THIN' AS WELL AS GOOD LOOKING' AND A LOT OF MONEY TO GO WITH IT >>>>> TO BAD!
Well said Teaser