A 71-year-old woman in the United States has been accused of killing her husband after he received a postcard from a woman he dated 60 years ago. According to The independentBertha Yalter of Florida was arrested after police received a call from a man claiming his wife had tried to kill him at their home. When police arrived on the scene, they found the man in an “extremely vulnerable” condition with “several severe bruises and open cuts… as well as open bite wounds that were bleeding.”
North Miami Beach police said Ms. Yalter and her husband had been married for nearly 52 years when the incident occurred. The man told officers the attack occurred after he received a postcard from a woman he dated before marrying his wife in the 1960s. According to the outlet, he said the postcard greatly angered the 71-year-old, who tried to suffocate him with a pillow.
According to investigators, footage of at least part of the attack was captured on a cell phone. The clip appeared to corroborate the man's story about the attack. Prosecutors also said Mrs. Yalter admitted to once taking her husband's cell phone. She also allegedly confessed to the attack when interviewed by police.
However, Ms Yalter's lawyer denied the claims of the attack. “This is a couple that has been married for 51 years,” the attorney said. “The police have overcharged this case extremely much. Our client's husband said he is doing fine. That he is sorry about the altercation. And that he is sorry for what happened,” she added. The lawyer also stated that Ms Yalter's husband was only taken to hospital by police because police insisted he go.
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The 71-year-old has been charged with attempted second-degree murder, aggravated battery against an elderly person and tampering with a witness or victim. She was also ordered to have no contact with her husband.
The 71-year-old's lawyer called the attempted murder charge “absurd.” “I am confident that we will resolve this matter quickly and favorably,” she added.
In contrast, prosecutors argued that the attempted suffocation by a pillow-covered man was attempted murder “because it would choke him and kill him.” “I think she also admitted to urinating on him,” the prosecutor said. “So I think when you look at the totality of the circumstances, this appears to be more than domestic battery by strangulation,” she added.