/ Source: The Associated Press
An 88-year-old man has been charged with murder in the shooting of his ill wife at a Southern California nursing home.
Orange County prosecutors Tuesday charged Roy Charles Laird with one felony count of murder, with a sentencing enhancement for use of a firearm causing death.
If convicted, Laird would face a maximum sentence of 50 years to life in state prison.
Authorities say Laird handed over a .38-caliber revolver to police on Sunday after gunfire was reported at Country Villa Healthcare Center in Seal Beach.
His 86-year-old wife, Clara Laird, was discovered with a gunshot wound to the head. She had suffered years of dementia and terminal pancreatic cancer.
The couple's daughter has described the shooting as a mercy killing.
