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Donald Schaffer Kills Wife of 43 Years in Nursing Home Murder-Suicide

By Michael Roberts in homicide
Thursday, May 24, 2012 at 5:08 am

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Breakfast reading from the Village Voice Empire: Joyce Schaffer, 69, broke her hip ten months ago, and her long recuperation caused a forced separation between her and Donald. Was that what led him to enter the facility with a handgun and open fire? Westword has the story.

Tags: Colorado, Village Voice Empire, Westword

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SicRic
SicRic

Personnaly I have some friends that I told, that if ever I was in a retirement home because no one, including myself was able to care for me, to jst line up the sight and dust me. The women may have asked the husband for this and if so, I have no issue with it. Loneliness can really screw your mind up and long life love makes you grant wishes you may otherwise never thought of. It's a shame, but it happens. I hope my wife has the common sense to do this to me when I need it. She can continue to live if she wants. I wouldn't want anyone to dust themselves over me. I've found that I'm just not worth that much.

Sam
Sam

A friend of mine who's a GP says that more often than not a broken hip seems to herald in the last stage of life, and i agree. It may just be because older people (people more likely to break a hip) are less likely to be able to bounce back physically, or it may be that having to lie there and try and heal from something causes mental issues and depression and a sense of 'i may as well give up', or it may be something altogether bigger.
In any case, I wonder if she was going downhill physically and / or mentally and he just couldn't stand seeing her disappear on him bit by bit. I think maybe he just wanted to end her suffering and ensure they were together in death if nothing else.

Laura_RT
Laura_RT

My ex's grandmother broke her hip a yr or two back. She'd just come home and was all alone in her carport. She said she needed to use the restroom, so she crawled into the house, past the phone, through the hallway to the bathroom before crawling back to the phone and calling for help. She ended up spending a few months in a nursing home (which upset me, but as I didn't hear anything about it until she was headed back home, there was nothing I could do) Anyway, she's a only a wee bit frailer than before but she's a tough old bird. I wouldn't be surprised if she outlived me. Thing about her though is she's always been very physically active (I figure she gets more done in a day than I do in a week).

Stanley_Ipkiss
Stanley_Ipkiss

I think being active all your life makes a big difference. My friends granda ran everywhere all his life..even to the corner shop he would always be running. He finally had a heart attack at about the age of 74 ..he has recovered and dude still runs everywhere lol and he must be early 80's..I imagine he runs a bit slower than 40 years ago but he is still at it. I think with healthy body comes a healthy mental attitude which can also go a long way.

Leah
Leah

My grandmother underwent hip surgery at 70 something and she never came out of it. Died about a month later. Sometimes the anesthetic can be too much for them and puts them in a coma.

Laura_RT
Laura_RT

Mine had two done when I was a kid, she couldn't hardly walk afterward but she made it until I was in my midtwenties... I guess it just depends on a person's resilience.

Sam
Sam

My mum battled breast cancer successfully for 10 years. During her last stay in hospital she broke her hip, and after that she only really came home to die. Whether the hip thing is cause or effect or aggravating factor is difficult to say, but it always seems to be almost like a swan song.
My mum was a tough one though, still took her a good 6 months to die.

Laura_RT
Laura_RT

That's even sadder. That's a hard time to lose a parent.

Sam
Sam

Thanks - it happened 23 years ago though so it's not so emotional for me now. The main thing that i'm sorry about is that i was 14 at the time so i never got to have 'girly mum & daughter days'. That's what i miss the most.

Laura_RT
Laura_RT

God, that sounds hard. So sorry for your loss.

Leah
Leah

I wonder if she knew he was going to kill them or he just decided on his own.

The_Yeti_Knows
The_Yeti_Knows

It's terrible, but if there were extenuating circumstances, you sometimes wonder if they have the right to decide, health and quality of life is everything, without igniting a debate that is, I don't want you hyenas to skin me alive for making the suggestion.
What would Oprah say ? ( besides yes of course I want fries with that )