An elderly man has been accused of stabbing his wife to death in an argument about pancakes, prosecutors said.
Steven Schwartz, 85, was arraigned Thursday after the fatal attack on his 81-year-old spouse, Sharron Schwartz, at their home in Washington, D.C., on Sunday. In a statement, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia said Steven Schwartz “did not want to eat the pancakes she made and stabbed her in the back.”
Schwartz pleaded not guilty on Thursday to a charge of second-degree murder while armed.
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According to the Metropolitan Police Department, officers were called to the couple’s home over reports of a stabbing at around 3:40 p.m. At the scene, police found “a woman inside of an apartment with injuries” and a man “with self-inflicted injuries.” “Both were transported to local hospitals for treatment, where the woman died,” police said.
A police affidavit alleges that Schwartz said he has a condition of eating diversion and depression, according to NBC News, adding that his wife had not deserved to die and that he wished he was dead. Another police document said Schwartz told investigators he had been recovering from a stroke at the time of the incident. He also said he loved his wife of more than 40 years and that he prayed that the killing had been a delusion.
A D.C. Superior Court judge on Thursday ordered Schwartz held without bond ahead of a preliminary hearing nearing next month.
