ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. — 91-year-old William Lippold is accused of killing his wife in their St. Johns County home. He’s facing first-degree murder charges.
Action News Jax told you about William Lippold’s arrest earlier this week.
He told detectives his wife was sick, and he promised to never put her in a nursing home.
Action News Jax spoke to legal expert Michelle Suskauer, not associated with this case. Suskauer is a past president of the Florida Bar and a criminal defense attorney. She says it’s unusual to prosecute someone of his age.
She says one Florida statute is a second-degree felony, called assisting self-murder.
“We see these cases when one spouse is elderly or has a terminal illness,” Suskauer said.
In the arrest report, detectives say Lippold told them he had been planning to kill his wife for about a month. She was blind and diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.
“Obviously very unusual to prosecute someone who is this age. And certainly, any penalty that this gentleman gets basically is a life sentence,” Suskauer said.
For the second-degree felony assisting self-murder charge, Suskauer says someone could get up to 15 years in prison for that in Florida.
“That’s not the charge that this gentleman is facing. It’s much more significant. But that doesn’t mean that the case is going to end up that way,” Suskauer said.
Physician-assisted suicide is legal in 13 states and the District of Columbia. Montana and New Mexico allow it through court rulings.
“Maybe an agreement between the parties that this is what they want. Obviously, they’re not here anymore to share that information with law enforcement. But it’s just a very, very tough and tragic situation,” Suskauer said.
We’ll keep you updated on this case as it moves through the court system.
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