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Man Strangled Wife To Death, Then Slept With Her Dead Body For 'Close To A Week,' Police Say
Authorities found Jeff Charles Sherwood "lethargic" in his home nearly a week after police allege he beat and strangled his wife to death during a fight.
A Michigan man has been accused of beating and strangling his wife to death during a fight and then sleeping with her dead body for days.
Jeff Charles Sherwood, 45, is now facing first-degree murder charges in the death of his wife, Susan Louise Klepsch, 64, according to the Royal Oak Tribune.
Klepsch’s body was discovered Saturday when friends of the couple became concerned that they had not heard from the pair and went to check on them.
“They went in the house and the suspect and (his wife) were laying in bed and appeared to be sleeping,” Hazel Park Police Chief Brian Buchholz told the local paper. “The suspect woke up and appeared to be incoherent. They didn’t get a response from the victim and were concerned for her.”
The couple quickly left and called police — who arrived to discover Klepsch dead and a “lethargic” Sherwood.
Sherwood was arrested and later admitted to authorities that he had taken aspirin and made multiple attempts to try to kill himself, police said.
Sherwood also allegedly confessed to fatally beating, kicking, and strangling his wife after the couple got into an argument about his fidelity, police said.
Klepsch had allegedly accused him of being unfaithful before the fatal beating began.
Buchholz said Sherwood had been sleeping with the dead body for “close to a week” after Klepsch died.
“It appears he would get in bed with her when he slept,” he said.
The Oakland County Medical Examiner ruled that Klepsch had died from blunt force trauma to the neck and head.
There had been a past history of alleged abuse between the couple, who had been married since 2018. Officers were called to their home in November 2019 for a domestic violence report after Klepsch told authorities that Sherwood grabbed her face and pushed her to the ground, according to local station WDIV.
Sherwood also has prior convictions in Florida for burglary and shoplifting.
He is currently being held in jail on a $3.5 million bail.
