Judge Rules Man, 77, Innocent, Decides He Killed Wife Out of Love
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SANTA ROSA, Calif. — A 77-year-old man strangled his wife out of love for her and is not guilty of murder because he is insane, a county judge has ruled.
Ralph Bergner “was showing his love for his wife, yes, even as he was killing her with his own hands,” Sonoma County Superior Court Judge Lawrence Antolini ruled Friday.
The judge had ordered a sanity hearing after Bergner pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, admitting that he killed his 79-year-old wife, Clorette, on Jan. 11 at their home. She had recently come home from the hospital after breaking her hip.
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