Lawmen believe man killed wife, tried to kill himself

JACKSONVILLE —Authorities are searching for answers in an apparent murder-suicide attempt involving an 80-year-old man in an Alzheimer’s care unit Tuesday night.

Onslow County Sheriff’s deputies believe the man shot and killed his wife, whom they say he was devoted to, and then turned the gun on himself. At last report, the man is in critical condition, on life support, in a Wilmington hospital.

Deputies, investigators and CSI members were dispatched at 10:30 p.m. Tuesday to the Alzheimer’s Related Care Community on Onslow Pines Road in Jacksonville to investigate a murder and attempted suicide.

Onslow County Detective Capt. Donnie Worrell said that when authorities arrived, they found an 80-year-old woman, Harriett Hargrove, in her room, shot twice in the head. In the room with her was her husband, Curtiss J. Hargrove, also 80, of Deppe Road in Maysville, who had a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the right side of his head, according to Worrell.

The woman was dead at the scene, Worrell said; and her husband, still breathing but unresponsive, was flown to the New Hanover Regional Medical Center in Wilmington, where he remains in critical condition on life support.

The sheriff’s department recovered at the center a small caliber handgun believed to be the weapon used in the crime.

Staff with the Alzheimer’s Related Care Community said the facility was 100-percent secured and can only be entered or exited with assistance from staff.

“The shooting of our resident by her husband was totally unexpected,” staff said in a prepared statement released to media. “Over the course of her stay with us, our staff was very observant of devotion between husband and wife.”

The woman became a patient at the center in mid-January, according to the release. Her husband visited her daily.

Worrell said there were many signs of the couple’s love for each other.

“He’d come out there religiously,” he said. “People at the facility referred to them as the cute little old couple.”

A woman who answered the phone at the couple’s residence and identified herself as their daughter declined to comment on the incident.

Worrell said the district attorney’s office has been advised of the incident but further action will depend on the condition of the husband.

Releases from the care center suggested the woman’s disease may have been an aggravating factor.

“Alzheimer’s disease is a very debilitating disease and can be stressful and frustrating to the resident as well as their family members,” staff said in a statement. “The ARC has an excellent reputation in the Alzheimer’s Community, and we will continue to ensure the safety and care for our residents.”