Maryland man accused of killing wife with hammer in fight about doctor
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An 80-year-old man killed his wife by attacking her with a hammer inside their apartment at the Leisure World community north of Washington, authorities alleged in court new court filings.
Vivian Stewart Nation is charged with first-degree murder in Saturday’s death of Beverly Rose Fletcher, 78.
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Montgomery County Police called to the scene found the hammer still on Fletcher’s neck and two other possible weapons – a knife and screwdriver with blood on them – in a room nearby, according to police.
Police responded to a call around 6 p.m. Saturday about an unresponsive person at the couple’s apartment in Leisure World, a gated development of more than 8,000 residents who are 55 and older, according to its website.
The officers arrived to find a Leisure World security officer and Nation, according to court filings. Inside the apartment, they discovered Fletcher’s body in an office. The records say she appeared to have suffered “multiple stab wounds and other possible blunt force trauma.”
Officers saw blood on Nation, who was taken to police headquarters for questioning.
“He stated that he was home with his wife earlier in the evening when they began arguing about an issue with his doctor,” investigators wrote in court filings.
The two began to fight, Nation allegedly told the detectives, and he pushed her to the floor.
“He then got on top of her,” investigators wrote, “and pushed a hammer against her throat, pressing the hammer down with both hands.”
Nation is scheduled to make his first court appearance Monday afternoon.
Court records do not list an attorney yet for Nation but indicate he will be represented, at least temporarily, by the public defender’s office in Montgomery County. Officials there were not immediately available for comment.
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