Kentucky man, 96, tried to kill 90-year-old wife who has dementia, police say

A 96-year-old man is facing an attempted murder charge after police in Kentucky say tried to kill his elderly wife suffering from dementia.

Seymour Taffler, who lives in Berea, about 40 miles south of Lexington, Kentucky, was arrested after police said he tried to kill his 90-year-old wife on Friday, court records obtained by USA TODAY show.

According to a police report, officers with Berea Police Department responded to a home for a possible domestic violence situation and met a woman who told police her father had "just snapped on her mother."

The daughter told police she found her father standing over her mother "in an apparent attempt to smother her," the report shows, and she forcibly removed her father from her mother.

The woman told police her father was trying to smother the victim for 15-20 minutes, police said.

According to the report, the officer found the man's wife in a recliner sleeping "with blood over her nose and mouth."

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'She was ready to die'

The husband told the officer he was laying in the same room with his wife and admitted he "smoothened her with a pillow because they did not have long to live" and his wife told him multiple times "she was ready to die."

The husband, the report continues, also said his wife suffered from dementia.

The man's wife, who the report says "appeared to be extremely frightened" was taken to a hospital to be treated for her injuries, according to the report, and her husband was booked into jail on Saturday.

The wife's condition was not immediately known on Wednesday.

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Bond set at $25,000, plea not yet entered

A Madison County District Court clerk told USA TODAY on Wednesday that Taffler had not yet entered a plea in the case and was set to be arraigned on Nov. 14.

The clerk said his bond was listed at $25,000 on Wednesday.

It was not immediately known if Taffler had obtained an attorney.

Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected] and follow her on X @nataliealund.