58-year-old wife used a vase to kill 93-year-old husband at 2 am, NC sheriff says

A 58-year-old woman is facing a first degree murder charge after her 93-year-old husband died of injuries suffered during a pre-dawn beating, according to investigators in North Carolina.

Richard Shoff spent nine days in Charlotte hospital before succumbing to his injuries, the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office said in an April 21 news release.

The attack happened around 2 a.m. on April 9, at a secluded home near Salisbury.

“The Rowan County Sheriff’s Office responded to a residence on Meadow Lane in Salisbury after 58-year-old Yorleni Shoff called 911 to report that her husband, 93-year-old Richard Shoff, was lying on the floor bleeding,” the sheriff’s office said.

“Deputies observed evidence of a violent altercation inside the home, including a significant amount of blood indicating an assault had occurred. Richard Shoff was found unresponsive and was transported to a local hospital with severe head injuries.”

Yorleni Shoff was arrested and charged with assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury, court records show.

Her husband died on April 18, resulting in the charge being upgraded to first degree murder, the sheriff’s office said. Yorleni Shoff was found living at a Salisbury hotel and arrested without incident, officials said.

“Detectives obtained a search warrant for the residence and recovered a broken vase believed to have been used as the weapon in the assault,” the sheriff’s office said. “Based on the evidence collected and the findings of the investigation, his death is being investigated as a homicide because of the injuries sustained during the assault.”

Salisbury is about a 45-mile drive northeast from uptown Charlotte.