E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSS
Authorities say John Haw Cross Sr. fatally stabbed his wife before stabbing himself in the head at their home inside a retirement community.
A 90-year-old South Carolina man has been charged with the murder of his wife of 62 years, according to the Bluffton Today newspaper.
Police served John Haw Cross Sr. with two arrest warrants on Thursday prior to a bond hearing at the Beaufort County Courthouse. His family arranged to have him released to a secure psychiatric facility in Savannah, Ga., after the hearing.
"Our main concern is that he remains in a locked-down facility and that he continues to receive the psychiatric treatment he needs," Solicitor Duffie Stone told the court.
Cross is accused of fatally stabbing his 84-year-old wife, Page Arrington Cross, at their home in a retirement community on Hilton Head Island on June 24 before stabbing himself in the head.
He has been charged with murder and possession of a weapon during a violent crime, according to court records.
Cross, who uses a wheelchair, is only permitted to leave the facility for medical appointments when accompanied by a caretaker or family member, per the judge's ruling. He was also ordered to undergo psychological evaluation to determine whether he is competent to stand trial.
Stay informed with the latest headlines; sign up for our newsletter
"His lawyers are saying he has a variety of health issues," Daniel Brownstein, spokesman for South Carolina's 14th Judicial Circuit Solicitor's Office, told NBC News.
Brownstein said that case against Cross will likely appear before a grand jury in late August.
More content from NBCNews.com:
- Alleged gunman in Sikh temple shooting ID'd as Army vet
- Sikhs reel after 'senseless' attack: We're not Taliban
- Wounded cop in Sikh termple shooting lauded as hero
- Gay couples face big hurdles to parenthood
- Video: Dog-paddling pooch swims with dolphins
Follow US News from NBCNews.com on Twitter and Facebook
Leave a Comment:
This guy may die before he can be tried. A life sentence probably wouldn't be too long.
So john was in a really deep sleep. in his dream he was young and being approached by a naked young woman, They where about to get down when John hears his wife yell, (waking him up). John! she yelled. "I can't sleep, the air conditioner is making too much noise". When the police came, They asked him why he killed her, all he would say is "i just wanted to go back to sleep".
We should probably get stronger knife control laws and start registering all knives.
I have yet to see any of the gun control advocates suggest banning knives, or restricting access to them, or blaming the knife for the murder. Funny how that works, isn't it?
Mr. : Knives have many uses-they are extremely functional for cutting food, or cutting rope, or carving wood, or opening packages-the Swiss Army Knife is a multi purpose tool and has many uses. Guns serve one purpose and one purpose only. Funny how that works, isnt it?
Ah, yes, the multiple use line.
As a matter of fact, no, they don't.
I can and do use guns for lots of things too. Target shooting, scaring varmits from my garden, discouraging would-be intruders from my home (no need to fire a shot, usually), and yes, actually killing animals in a fair, sportsmanlike hunt - I actually eat the meat, by the way. In fact, I have never used one to fire on a human being. So, why don't you find another line? Yours isn't working.
To further illustrate how ridiculous your argument is: How about baseball bats? They are intended for one purpose and one purpose only, right? Or what about tire irons? But they have both been used to kill people. So, by your logic, we should ban those, right?
Mr. Steady.
Guns are made to kill things. They're not scarecrows, nor are they for "discouraging" intruders. They're meant to threaten (yes threaten is a valid thing they can be used for, because...) and take the life of something. Target shooting is practicing your aim to make you more efficient with weapon. Your line of reasoning is faulty.
A knife's primary purpose is not that of a weapon. True, nearly everything can be used AS a weapon. But guns ARE weapons. That's the difference.
Honestly though, I'm indifferent when it comes to gun control, and support the 2nd amendment.
I do, however, strongly oppose bullsh#t, so therefore, you need a bit of correction.
Ummm Mr. Steady...what's the "one purpose" bats are used for??? Hitting a baseball! Tire irons..."one purpose" to change a tire! Geeeez. Ya know i'm not for banning guns...but your "argument" is waaaay more ignorant and stupid than any argument I've seen for banning them. Dude, if you're going to post something make at least semi intelligent.
Reality check, if you have a knife , i can run. if you have a gun, im dead. Any questions?
How do you punish him? The crime seems almost benign, but yet its so very very horrible. If they were young there would be many more comments. What do you say, "Give him life." Or, "Give him death." Both are redundant.
Well, at that age, giving him life might make him young.
Benign??? It's benign that he stabbed and killed his wife because she's old? Man or man covelosid I pray to God that your parents are never left to your care when they're old. You might just wake up someday and decide to kill them cause they're too old. I mean it would be benign right? Geeeeez did you read what you typed before you posted it????
I told you that marriage would never last.
Denver -
Tacky comment, but I admit it brought forth a grin . . .
Sure it did, he was just following up on the "till death do us part" of the marriage. It wasn't a divorce.
Truely a sad end to a long relationship born of love for each other.
This is the second husband that off's his wife in the past few days, what is going on, is there a new trend forming?
I think the other story was a man who didn't want his wife to suffer. This one seems like he just lost his mind.
yes, the new trend is people not understanding that in a population of almost 500 million, everything bad and everything good is gona happen many times in a day. week. month etc. and not understanding that for every thing like this you read about, hundreds more go unreported by the media.
old people killing old people....sounds awesome to me. should be a reality show....id watch it
You can probably go to your local nursing home to get your kicks. There's a lot that can be said about people who watches reality tv shows, the first that comes to mind is trailer park.
actually to be honest i dont watch any reality tv shows and stop getting butt hurt over a stupid sarcastic comment....have a sense of humor @!$%#
I stabbed my wife last night but it didn't kill her. In fact, she asked me to do it again.
Can I stab her too? My knife is very long adds a little something extra for the ride. :-)
At ninety years old, I really don't know what society can do to punish the guy. It's just a horrible tragedy. It's too bad they cut $500 millions from Medicare, perhaps they could have had counseling. More children got health insurance while this old woman got the death penalty. These are the real life costs of policy changes. There are always costs and benefits associated with fiscal changes, this is one unfortunate example.
By this age the usual reason for this type of violence can be one of two things: either he killed her to end her suffering/prevent the suffering of the near future, or he had diminished capacity due to some form of dementia. This is very sad. Everyone making all of these silly vengeful statements might need a hobby.