A dementia-stricken New York man died days after he was arrested over the strangulation death of his wife of 70 years.
Jane Sayler was reportedly strangled to death with a towel inside the Penn Yan home where she and 89-year-old Ronald Sayler lived.
It was a home health aide who made the discovery of Jane’s body laying next to Ronald on the bathroom floor on August 29.
The man was in a deteriorating health condition and investigators believe he remained near his slain wife’s body for at least two days.
“It’s a tough situation,” said Police Chief Thomas Dunham. “It’s really a case-by-case basis, really making sure people have the care they need.”
“In this particular situation, I don’t think the family did anything wrong. I think it was a freak incident that was really unfortunate.”
The suspect was removed from the scene and taken to a hospital where he was placed into palliative care until he passed on September 1.
Investigators couldn’t question Ronald over the murder but presumed that his advanced dementia contributed to the tragedy.
“Very shocked,” neighbor Jessica Paquette, who witnessed the scene, said. “And I just wanted to get out of there because I knew she was gone.”
“There was a lot of chaos in the house. Chairs flipped over, blankets on the floor. The house was in a little bit of disarray, so I knew that it wasn’t right.”
