78 year old man kills 74 year old wife over infidelity suspicion

A 78 year old man has been arrested for allegedly killing his wife over suspicions of infidelity.

The Washington state resident reportedly killed his wife of 53 years by hitting her with a hammer because he suspected her of cheating.

James Flora, 78, was booked into the Pierce County Jail on Monday, August 3, on a charge of first-degree murder in the death of his spouse, identified as 74-year-old Ella Joyce Flora.

James Flora had walked into Tacoma General Hospital and told staff that he had choked his wife during a fight at their home.

Officers with the University Place Police Department responded to the Flora family’s home in the 5600 block of 61st Avenue West to perform a welfare check on the wife after the husband’s statement.

When officers rang the doorbell, no one answered, so they gained entry into the house through an open window. Inside, they found the 74-year-old victim dead.

An autopsy performed by the Pierce County Medical Examiner’s Office determined that the victim’s cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head.

Investigators said that James repeatedly struck his wife with a hammer and then put plastic wrap on her mouth and nose until she stopped breathing.

According to charging documents cited by Tacoma News Tribune, the couple had a volatile relationship and their neighbors reported often hearing screams coming from their house, including last Sunday.

James claimed his wife had been cheating on him for years and he knew about it.