ELDERLY WOMAN RESENTED HAVING TO TAKE CARE OF HER DISABLED HUSBAND, SO SHE 'ACCIDENTALLY' SHOT HIM DEAD

NJ woman who said she mistakenly shot husband is charged with first-degree murder

 

By Joshua Rhett Miller

 

New York Post

December 15, 2-21 

 

A New Jersey woman who told cops she accidentally shot her ailing husband in the head has been charged with murder, prosecutors said.

Michele Linzalone, 73, called 911 early Monday to report the accidental shooting of her husband, Rocky V. Linzalone, 74, who was later pronounced dead at the couple’s Middletown home despite efforts by paramedics to save him, Acting Monmouth County Prosecutor Lori Linskey said Tuesday.

 

Michele Linzalone led responding cops to a second-floor bedroom, where her husband Rocky had a gunshot wound to the head. Investigators determined that Rocky Linzalone’s fatal shooting was “not the result of an accidental discharge”

 

Some 22 minutes before calling 911, Linzalone used her phone to search the internet if someone would “die instantly” from being shot in the head, according to court documents obtained by NJ.com.

Linzalone also used her phone as far back as Nov. 18 to look up details on ammunition, according to a probable cause affidavit.

“Are hollow-point bullets more powerful?” Linzalone allegedly searched online.

Linzalone later told officers she “accidentally” shot her husband as he slept. He relied on her as his primary caregiver following two strokes that left him disabled, the affidavit states.

“She advised the 911 dispatcher that she was playing with the gun and it went off and hit her husband,” a detective wrote.

Asked if her husband was still alive at the time, Linzalone replied “so far,” according to the affidavit.

Linzalone also told cops she waited up to 30 minutes before calling 911 since she was “in shock” and wanted to get dressed and brush her teeth.

Rocky Linzalone’s relatives told investigators his wife’s role as his caregiver “appeared to take a toll” on her, leading her to become resentful toward him, according to the affidavit.

Linzalone, who is also facing a weapon possession charge, was taken into custody Monday at the Monmouth County Correctional Institution before her initial court appearance Tuesday.

She remained held without bond Wednesday ahead of a detention hearing set for Friday, online records show. Court records do not list an attorney for her, a Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office spokesman told The Post.

If convicted of murder, Linzalone faces up to life in prison. Linskey did not provide a possible motive in the deadly shooting and a spokesman with her office declined to elaborate beyond her statement.