‘I may have had something to do with her demise.’ Sarasota man charged with killing his wife

A 78-year-old Sarasota County man has been charged with murder in the beating death of his wife of 40 years, according to the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office.

John Richardson of Osprey was officially charged with second-degree murder on Monday for the death of Judith Richardson, 74, which occurred June 20.

Deputies say they responded to the scene in the 500 block of Rousseau Drive in June and found the victim dead, laying face down in the master bedroom.

“I may have had something to do with her demise,” Richardson told deputies, according to the sheriff’s office.

Richardson was interviewed that same day and, according to a sheriff’s office report, told deputies: “I’m not saying I didn’t do it, and I’m not saying I did do it. ... My fears are I had something to do with her injuries. ... I’m interested in what forensics is going to say.”

Richardson admitted that he and his wife had an “altercation.” The sheriff’s office said an investigation determined that Judith Richardson suffered “multiple blunt force injuries to her head and torso.”

“The victim’s cause of death was the result of homicidal violence and the manner of death, homicide,” the medical examiner wrote.

A bloody pillowcase and a broken watch had Richardson’s DNA on them, and forensics also found Richardson’s DNA underneath the victim’s fingernails.

Based on the results of the autopsy and forensic evidence, Richardson was charged with murder and booked into the Sarasota County jail where he remains in custody.