A 78-year-old Largo man is charged with murder after police say he attacked his wife with a sledgehammer on Christmas Day.
Aileen McPhee, who suffered serious head injuries in the attack, died Monday, Largo police said in a news release Thursday.
Her husband, Jonathan Trumbull McPhee, called 911 after the attack and then stabbed himself before officers arrived. He was in critical condition at a local hospital on Thursday, police said, and will be charged with murder upon his release.
Police said 911 call takers received a call from Jonathan McPhee on Christmas morning, saying he had killed his wife and was planning to commit suicide due to financial problems.
“I bludgeoned her and I’m going to try to stab myself in the heart,” he told the dispatcher, according to an arrest affidavit.
He also texted his wife’s daughter, who is his stepdaughter, and told her he planned to kill his wife and himself, the affidavit said.
He mentioned health problems and left her information about final arrangements and life insurance, according to the affidavit.
Officers went to the home on Pinecone Way and found Jonathan McPhee outside with a self-inflicted stab wound. They found Aileen McPhee in bed. She had been hit with a “small sledgehammer,” the affidavit said.
While being treated, Jonathan McPhee said, “Just let me die. I killed my wife,” the affidavit said.