An 84-year-old New Jersey man has been charged with first-degree murder after allegedly stabbing his wife to death in what prosecutors are calling a "mercy killing."
Burlington County prosecutors said it happened in a Mount Laurel assisted living home Sunday. Dan Mook turned the knife on himself after stabbing his wife Sharon, but he survived.
Mook was charged with murder in the first degree and related charges, Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office PIO Joel Bewley said. He remains hospitalized in stable condition.
Officers were called to the assisted living facility on Fernbrooke Lane for a report of a stabbing just before 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Bewley said. They found Mook with self-inflicted cuts and stab wounds.
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His wife was found dead in their bedroom, prosecutors said.
According to Bewley, the preliminary investigation showed Mook killed his wife because “she was in poor health and he was concerned that she was suffering.”
An autopsy ruled the cause of death to be multiple stab and slash wounds, Bewley said.
