Carroll County law enforcement officials have arrested and charged a 76-year-old Westminster woman with murdering her 72-year-old husband after she allegedly pushed him to the ground in their home and bludgeoned him with a cane, according to a news release.
When first responders arrived at Gail DβAnthonyβs home the evening of March 1, she told them her husband, John DβAnthony III, was in cardiac arrest.
But an autopsy revealed he had suffered extensive injuries inconsistent with a natural death, including lacerations to his mouth, a broken neck, a broken right rib, two black eyes and large contusions to his hands and forearms.
The medical examiner ruled DβAnthony IIIβs death a homicide.
βAll of us in law enforcement in Carroll are committed to protecting vulnerable victims of domestic violence, no matter how young or old,β Carroll County Stateβs Attorney Haven Shoemaker said in a statement.
After the medical examinerβs ruling, members of the Carroll County Sheriffβs Office Major Crimes Unit collected evidence at the coupleβs Royer Road home and found blood spatter consistent with the blunt force injuries DβAnthony III suffered.
Detectives also interviewed a witness this month who said Gail DβAnthony told her she killed her husband. The witness said Gail DβAnthony recounted pushing her husband to the ground, leaving the room and returning with a cane she used to beat him and block him from getting up.
βGail DβAnthony entered and exited the room several times, eventually finding her husband unresponsive,β according to the news release. βShe then called 911 for assistance.β
Sheriffβs officers took Gail DβAnthony into custody Wednesday in Cumberland. She is being held without bail in Allegany County until she can be transported to the Carroll County Detention Center. She faces one count each of first- and second-degree murder.
An attorney for Gail DβAnthony was not listed in online court documents.
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