Randolph County Coroner: Man Accused of Killing Wife Has Dementia

A Missouri coroner says a man charged with killing his wife has dementia.

The Columbia Daily Tribune reports that Randolph County Coroner Gerald Luntsford says he talked to people who knew 81-year-old Vernon Head. One friend told Luntsford that Head didn't even know his own name.

Head is charged with first-degree murder in the weekend shooting death of his wife, 77-year-old Vickye Head. Investigators found her dead inside the couple's rural Moberly home after Vernon Head went to a local bank and reported to a teller that his wife had been shot and was dead.

Randolph County Sheriff Mark Nichols said he can't confirm anything about the defendant's mental condition.

Public defender Edward Guinn told The Associated Press that he can't comment about the case.