INDIANAPOLIS, IN – An 81-year-old man out of Indiana who reportedly admitted to police to killing his wife with a hammer shortly after the incident in January 2025 learned his fate in court earlier in July, with an opted-for bench trial seeing the elderly man not convicted of murder but a lesser manslaughter charge in light of the circumstances.
On January 17th, 2025, then-79-year-old Terry Ogle called 911 from the Indianapolis residence he shared with his wife Mary, reportedly telling dispatchers that he just murdered his 76-year-old wife. “I did it,” Ogle reportedly said while speaking with the 911 dispatcher, adding, “Yeah, she’d been down for a while.” When asked by dispatchers whether he wanted to perform CPR, Ogle reportedly responded with, “It’s too late.”
Following the arrival of Indianapolis Metropolitan Police officers, they reportedly found the elderly woman lying on her back, covered in a blanket and bleeding from her head. Ogle apparently used a hammer during the fatal attack, with his wife later being declared deceased at the scene by first responders. Authorities noted Ogle was also bleeding himself from an unspecified self-inflicted injury, which he was treated for at an area hospital before being transferred to the local jail.
Ogle was initially charged with murder, which when interviewed by police regarding the incident, Ogle reportedly told investigators it was “a long story,” claiming he suspected his wife had been unfaithful during their marriage. “I've been under depression for a while… I think she's having an affair. So, I lost it,” Ogle reportedly told police during an interview.
Investigators also learned that Ogle has texted his daughter following the murder, reportedly writing, “I’m going to jail. I killed Mary.”
Ogle reportedly didn’t want to take the case before a jury, instead requesting a bench trial for the murder charge. Given the circumstances surrounding the incident, Ogle’s murder charge was dropped, and he was instead convicted of voluntary manslaughter this past June. On July 17th, Ogle was handed down a sentence of 15 years in prison with credit for the time already served since his arrest in January of 2025.
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