Man, 76, admits killing wife, dogs in anger, say Texas cops

(CBS) LEWISVILLE, Texas - Police in Lewisville, Texas say an elderly man has admitted to shooting and killing his wife, after he becoming frustrated because one of their dogs defecated in their house, CBSDFW reports.

Police say they became aware of a problem on Tuesday, March 27, when a supervisor with Verizon called to report that 49-year-old employee Bernice Stolz hadn't been to work for several days and that it wasn't like her to miss work without calling.

Officers went to the Stolz home, in the city in the Dallas-Forth Worth metropolis, and after getting no response from doorbell rings and knocks on windows and doors went into the backyard. When police entered the house through a sliding glass door an officer saw a dead dog on the living room floor.

According to a police affidavit, when officers entered the house and began announcing their presence, a man yelled out from a hidden position and said he would be "out there" in a minute and that officers should not come back to where he was.

After the man refused to identify himself, come out into the open, or allow them to check the welfare of Bernice Stolz, the Lewisville SWAT team was called and executed a search warrant on the house.

A robotic device, with an attached camera, was sent in and showed homeowner Michael Stolz Sr., 76, lying on the floor; it was then the SWAT team broke into the house.

After Michael Stolz was taken outside, police discovered a second dead dog and then the body of a deceased female. Police said it appeared the woman had "suffered a gunshot wound to her head." Officers did locate a gun inside the house.

Michael Stolz was soon taken to the Lewisville Police Department and questioned. It was then officers said they learned Stolz had been upset with one of his dogs for defecating inside the house. Stolz told detectives that when his wife continued to complain about the dog he went into the bedroom and got a gun.

According to the affidavit, Stolz then admitted to walking into the living room, shooting both dogs. During the outburst Bernice Stolz allegedly had run, screaming into the kitchen. Michael Stolz told detectives that after killing the animals he then "started shooting his wife" until he ran out of bullets.

According to CBSDFW, Michael Stolz then claimed that he hadn't planned the murder out, because after killing his wife he didn't have any bullets left to shoot himself. Stolz was being held on $250,000 bond.