Ohio man to 911: 'I just shot and killed my wife'
(Photo from Hamilton County Sheriff's Office)
CINCINNATI (AP) - A suburban Cincinnati man was held on $3 million bond Tuesday on a murder charge, the day after calmly calling 911 to confess he'd killed his wife, and to say that he wasn't a threat and would be awaiting police on his front stoop.
The 57-year-old man gave the dispatcher his Appletree Court address in Colerain Township, and when she asked "What can I help you with?" he replied: "I just shot and killed my wife."
Police say Jeffrey Hawkins, who called himself "Jeff" on the call, surrendered to officers at his home after the call late Monday morning.
The caller said he shot his wife, later identified by authorities as 59-year-old Jo Ann Hawkins, multiple times with a .40-caliber handgun. Asked by the dispatcher if he was still armed, he replied: "It's (the gun) on the sink. I'm not a threat to anybody. I'm a former police officer."
Hawkins identifies himself on social media as a public safety and security professional who received police training in Chicago.
His composure cracked after the dispatcher asked him what exactly had happened. He said his wife cleaned out their bank account Saturday, on his birthday, then refused to talk to him.
"She just kept saying, `Talk to my lawyer.' And I don't know, it just happened," he said, choking up. The dispatcher urged him to stay calm.
"God forgive me," he said, then said he heard sirens.
A Hamilton County judge set $3 million bond Tuesday for Hawkins, pending grand jury action next week. A phone message was left Tuesday for his attorney.
A neighbor, Peggy Ray, told WCPO-TV she had been in the home for a Tupperware party.
"She was a very nice person," she said, stunned at the fatal shooting in her normally quiet neighborhood.