Police: Husband killed wife with health problems due to exhaustion

Kenneth Pautler (Jefferson County Jail).

A 73-year-old Missouri man is now in custody after reportedly killing his wife because he was tired of taking care of her and did not want her to pass away in a nursing home.

Kenneth Pautler has been charged with first-degree murder and armed criminal action in connection with the death of his 75-year-old wife, Karen Pautler. The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office revealed that deputies were called to a residence on Frontier Lane in Fenton, a suburb of St. Louis, at around 2:15 p.m. on Friday.

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When they arrived, Kenneth Pautler met them at the door and let them inside. They found Karen Pautler dead in a bedroom with a gunshot wound. According to a probable cause arrest affidavit obtained by local CBS affiliate KMOV and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the suspect gave cops the gun he used and admitted to shooting her. He allegedly said over the last few days he became “exhausted” of caring for his wife who had mental heath issues and he did not want her to die in a nursing home.

Police say on Friday morning, he decided to kill her.

“Kenneth advised he wanted the victim’s death to be humane, so he chose a specific cartridge for the firearm,” detectives reportedly wrote in the affidavit. “Kenneth also stated he chose his shot placement to kill the victim as quick as possible.”