NORFOLK, Mass., Jan. 6, 2009
Cross-Dressing Wife Killer Found Hanged
Mass. Doctor Serving Life In Prison For Killing His Estranged Wife Found By Cellmate
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In this Nov. 26, 2001, file photo, Dr. Richard Sharpe is escorted into a courtroom in Lawrence, Mass., during his trial for the murder of his wife. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File)
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Richard Sharpe was found by his cellmate at MCI-Norfolk on Monday evening and was declared dead at a hospital, said Department of Correction spokeswoman Diane Wiffin.
"He tied a bedsheet to the top bunk," Wiffin said. She declined to characterize the death as a suicide, however, saying it remained under investigation by the corrections department and the Norfolk district attorney's office. An autopsy was planned.
Sharpe, 54, had tried to hang himself in his cell in 2002.
But Sharpe's appeals attorney, Michael Traft, told WBZ Radio there was no indication that Sharpe was despondent recently.
He was convicted in 2001 of shooting his wife, Karen, in the foyer of her Wenham home in July 2000 as her brother and others looked on. In 2007, he was acquitted of charges he tried to hire a hitman to kill the prosecutor in his murder trial.
Sharpe had been a member of the Harvard Medical School faculty who ran several businesses outside his medical practice and parlayed his earnings into millions in the stock market.
Prosecutors said he killed his wife because he was angry over the prospect of losing $3 million in their divorce.
His arrest drew national attention when photographs of him wearing slinky dresses and fishnet stockings were widely published. His wife had said in earlier affidavits that he stole her birth control pills in an effort to enlarge his breasts.
At his trial, Sharpe testified that he began cross-dressing at a young age to escape his father's rage. Defense witnesses, including Sharpe's siblings, testified that Sharpe was abused for years by his father. He testified he didn't remember much about the night of the killing.
A defense psychiatrist said Sharpe suffered from a half-dozen disorders, including depression and intermittent explosive disorder, which causes bursts of rage or aggression. The expert said alcohol made them worse.
But prosecutors said Sharpe faked symptoms of mental illness. He did not kill his wife in a burst of rage, they argued, but planned the slaying after she left him.
Mark Smith, a partner in the law firm that represented her in the divorce, said he hoped that Sharpe's death "brings some closure to this nightmare for the three Sharpe children."
The 2007 trial centered on allegations that Sharpe approached another prison inmate for help in killing Robert Weiner, who had brought the murder case against Sharpe as an Essex County prosecutor. Sharpe was acquitted in a four-day trial.
"Whenever a person takes their own life, obviously you feel badly for that person, but my true sympathy is with Karen Sharpe," Weiner said Tuesday. "She died needlessly."
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Add a Comment See all 17 Comments
- He murdered his wife in front of her family. I could care less what happens to such a person.
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- I don''t know how the ladies wore their hair in the 70s. Today I wear a pony tail. I am 54. they call him Dr. A Dr of what.
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- His haircut is very 1970''s. I think he would look appropriate being buried in one of the chiffon prom gowns that were in fashion back then. You can often find them on Ebay for not much money.....
- Reply to this comment
- One less Obama voter to worry about.
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- Just warp him in a sheet and bury him.
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- Was it a pink bedsheet he was hung with ?
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- Careful now...using hemp may encourage drug use...."won''''t someone think of the children?"
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Posted by HonestAbe8 at 03:54 PM : Jan 06, 2009
His children were scarred when he killed their mom. Hopefully they begin healing now although it''s got to be hard losing mother of your mom''s. - Reply to this comment
- 12 to 18 feet of sturdy hemp, along with a few ceiling anchor plates should be standard issue to all inmates.
Posted by DaVicar3
Careful now...using hemp may encourage drug use...."won''t someone think of the children?" - Reply to this comment
- Earache4 and Farremoved, you are both totally out of line. A nice evening suit would be better than an evening gown or cocktail dress, something somber like a dove gray or black with the proper accessories. For shame!
Posted by missybelle at 03:29 PM
Are you talking a pantsuit with a belt? Those aren''''t very slimming, and who wants to spend eternity in one of those?
Don''t forget about a slip and a nice pair of hose! I hope the funeral home beautician has fun him him. - Reply to this comment
- Funny, funny comments! Read them all.
earache4 at 01:13 PM : Jan 06, 2009
lol. Absolutely halarious! Thanks!
lady_organs at 01:20 PM : Jan 06, 2009
Crawl back into your cave.
osiod9 at 01:40 PM : Jan 06, 2009
Ditto!
Solarrays247 at 01:36 PM : Jan 06, 2009
Ditto!
apple2pie at 01:46 PM : Jan 06, 2009
:-D
earache4 at 01:46 PM : Jan 06, 2009
:-D and ditto!
zoe-2009 at 01:47 PM : Jan 06, 2009
:-D
earache4 at 01:52 PM : Jan 06, 2009
:-D He probably did.
earache4 at 02:01 PM : Jan 06, 2009
Need to google him deep down. He probably is related to Palin-n-crew.
FarRemoved at 02:35 PM : Jan 06, 2009
:-D
earache4 at 02:46 PM : Jan 06, 2009
:-D
missybelle at 03:29 PM : Jan 06, 2009
lol
Gotta go. Thanks, again. - Reply to this comment
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