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DUCHESNE, Utah (AP) — A 78-year-old Duchesne man has been ordered to prison in his elderly wife's 2011 stabbing death.
Charles Edward Dodd had pleaded guilty but mentally ill to a murder charge and was sentenced this week to 15 years to life in prison.
A friend was tipped off to the killing after receiving a package from Dodd with a suicide note and $7,000 for burial expenses.
Dodd's 82-year-old wife, Mary Ratliff, was found dead in the couple's home Aug. 13, 2011. Dodd was unconscious in the same room with a puncture wound in his chest.
Dodd told police his wife was in constant pain and the couple discussed "ending it."
Prosecutors said Dodd was competent enough to deal with family finances, and argued the death couldn't be called a mercy killing.
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