81-year-old Alabama man accused of strangling his wife to death and trying to kill himself

TRUSSVILLE, Ala. (TCD) -- Prosecutors have indicted an 81-year-old man who allegedly strangled his 82-year-old wife to death last year.

On June 1, 2022, at approximately 1:30 a.m., John Harris reportedly called his son and professed he planned on killing his wife and then himself inside their home on Brookstone Drive, the Birmingham Real-Time News reports. The son reportedly called 911 to report what his father told him.

Officers responded and allegedly heard a gunshot, but they failed to make contact with anyone inside the residence. The suspect, John Harris, reportedly barricaded himself inside.

Trussville Police Chief Ertic Rush told the Trussville Tribune Harris' son "was on the scene and we hoped he could talk his father out of the house, but that didn’t go anywhere."

Officers reportedly negotiated with Harris for about four hours, but then he "just stopped communicating."

At one point, Trussville Police Department officers reportedly broke though two windows in the home and saw Harris inside.

He eventually exited the home unarmed and was taken into custody. Harris reportedly shot himself in the face and was taken to a nearby hospital.

The Birmingham Real-Time News reports officers found the victim, Jo Ann Henry Harris, deceased from apparent suffocation and strangulation. Investigators believe Harris and his wife suffered from dementia.

Harris confessed to police that he had killed his wife, and he was planning to kill himself, according to WBRC-TV.

Harris was booked into the Jefferson County Jail for intentional murder without bond, records show. His trial has not yet been scheduled.

MORE:

• Jefferson County Jail Records
• 81-year-old Trussville man indicted in wife’s strangulation/suffocation death - Birmingham Real-Time News
• Trussville man, 81, indicted in wife’s 2022 murder - WBRC
• UPDATED: Trussville PD identifies 80-year-old man charged in killing of his wife, 6/1/2022 - Trussville Tribune