By Nicole Hensley New York Daily News

Nelson Harvey, 91, allegedly shot his wife of 65 years, Evelyn Harvey, 93, to end her suffering, according to authorities.

An elderly Texas man fatally shot his terminally ill wife in the head inside their retirement home on Saturday, authorities said.

A health care worker at the Monte Vista at Coronado Apartments in El Paso discovered Evelyn Harvey, 93, dead of a gunshot wound during a routine bed check around 8:10 a.m. The woman’s 91-year-old husband, Nelson Harvey, was asleep nearby and, once awoken, willingly retreived the weapon stashed in a dresser and handed it to his caretakers, according to the El Paso Times.

The couple, who had been married 65 years, had no surviving family members or friends living near the retirement home, according to the report. A caretaker initially assumed she died in her sleep and left the husband alone to continue sleeping.

The caretakers, however, returned to the sleeping suspect around 11:30 a.m. and realized he may have played a role, the Times reported.

She had a gunshot wound to the back of her head.

“The victim had died during the course of the night,” according to a police report obtained by the Times. “He was tired of her suffering so he shot her.”

IMAGE: EL PASO POLICE DEPARTMENT
Nelson Harvey, 91, allegedly shot his wife of 65 years, Evelyn Harvey, 93, to end her suffering, according to authorities.

For more on this story go to: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/husband-kills-terminally-ill-wife-suffering-article-1.2459576