Avon man, 90, admits killing his ailing wife

Likely will get 4 years in prison

6/19/2014
ASSOCIATED PRESS

ELYRIA, Ohio — A 90-year-old northeast Ohio man is likely to be sentenced to four years in prison after admitting he suffocated his ailing 85-year-old wife “to put her out of her misery.”

Robert Shaw of Avon pleaded guilty this week in Elyria to involuntary manslaughter in the 2008 death of wife Virginia Shaw in November 2008.

As part of the plea agreement, charges including aggravated murder were dropped. His sentencing hasn’t been scheduled.

Shaw called 911 that day and told the operator he suffocated his sick wife, saying she had been in and out of the hospital for months and wanted “to put her out of her misery.”

He surrendered to police, and extensive mental health evaluation found him competent to stand trial.