Roy Laird, 88, Pleads Not Guilty to Murdering His Wife of 70 Years
WESTMINSTER, Calif. (CBS/AP) Roy Charles Laird, an 88-year-old great grandfather who is confined to a wheelchair, pleaded not guilty Tuesday to murdering his wife in a Southern California nursing home shooting.
Even though the family described the shooting as a mercy killing, Laird is facing a murder charge with a sentencing enhancement allegation of use of a firearm causing death, which could bring 50 years to life in prison.
Judge Steven D. Bromberg agreed to release Laird to a round-the-clock care facility with lockdown because he does not believe the elderly man is a flight risk, nor does he have a criminal record.
"My biggest concern is I don't want you to do anything to hurt yourself," Bromberg told Laird, who said he has been fighting a cold for the past three weeks and has a dead battery in his hearing aid.
Laird, who goes by the name "Chuck," will remain in custody on $1 million bail until the judge approves a facility proposed by Laird's relatives.
According to police, on Nov. 21 Laird went to visit his 86-year-old wife Clara who suffered from debilitating dementia and shot her in the head with a .38-caliber revolver.
After he shot his wife of 70 years, he handed over the gun to authorities.
The couple's daughter, who said her father used to visit her mother three times a day, referred to the incident as a "mercy killing."
"For those watching a relative make this horrific descent, sometimes to subhuman levels, it's far from an intellectual exercise; it is visceral and gut-wrenching and the source of continual sadness, concern and frustration," family member Winslow Chase said in a statement.
Initially, prosecutors believed the murder charge was appropriate, but now say it could be reduced given the nature of the case.
Laird's next appearance in court is set for January 24.
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