Elderly man stabs wife, calls 911 from nearby Publix, police say

Abner Lawton, 80, suffers from Alzheimer's, attorney says

MIAMI ā€“ An 80-year-old man who suffers from Alzheimer's is behind bars, accused of stabbing his wife to death inside their Southwest Miami-Dade County home.

Abner Peckman Lawton was arrested Sunday on a charge of second-degree murder.

According to an arrest report, Lawton stabbed his wife, Betty Lawton, multiple times inside their home on Southwest 90th Street off 103rd Avenue.

Police said he drove to a nearby Publix on 107th Avenue and called 911 from the store's customer service telephone.

Police said Lawton told the dispatcher that he had fatally stabbed his wife at about noon.

Officers met Lawton in the Publix parking lot, and said he had blood throughout his clothing.

Detectives and Miami-Dade Fire Rescue responded to Lawton's home and found his wife dead with stab wounds throughout her body.

The Lawtons' friend, Mike Wiggs, may be the last person to have interacted with Lawton before his arrest, and said he tried to visit the couple earlier on Sunday.

"When he cracked that door, it looked like he was wearing like an oxygen thing on his nose, and he was fine," Wiggs said. "He said he had an emergency. Ā I said, 'Is there something wrong with Betty?' He said, 'I'll call you on Monday,' and he closed the door and I left."

Lawton was arrested and remains at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center. He will be in court Tuesday morning.

A motive for the killing is unclear.

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