Westmoreland Co. Man Pleads Guilty To Causing Wife's 2016 Suicide
Follow KDKA-TV: Facebook | Twitter
GREENSBURG, Pa. (AP) - An elderly western Pennsylvania man has pleaded guilty to a felony charge of causing the suicide of his wife.
Eighty-two-year-old Edward Friday entered the plea last week in an agreement with Westmoreland County prosecutors, who dismissed homicide and first-degree murder charges.
Police in Rostraver say they found 82-year-old Wilma Jean Friday bleeding from a large neck wound in May 2016. They say her husband said the couple had a suicide pact and he cut his wife's throat because she couldn't do it herself, then slit his wrists and took 20 painkillers. He survived. She died two days later.
Assistant District Attorney Karen Patterson says police never determined why the couple apparently entered into a suicide pact. Defense attorney Michael Machen told the judge the suicide charge was the appropriate offense.
(Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)