89-year-old Hernando County man confesses to smothering wife, deputies say

DADE CITY, Fla. - Hernando County deputies have arrested a man they say killed his elderly wife. 

According to the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office, on January 18, deputies were called to a home on the 3900 block of Basinger Street in Dade City to investigate a report of an elderly deceased woman. 

Detectives say family members told them that the woman’s husband, 89-year-old Robert Carl Duhrkopf made statements that led them to believe that he may have taken his wife’s life. 

Robert Carl Duhrkopf mugshot courtesy of the Hernando County Sheriff's Office. 

Investigators who interviewed Duhrkopf at a later date, say he confessed to smothering his wife until she stopped breathing. 

He was arrested for aggravated manslaughter of an elderly person and is being held without bond. 

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