Elderly woman found beaten to death with a hammer after husband talked about suicide pact, police say

Neighbors of an elderly couple in Florida were stunned to find out the wife had been beaten to death with a hammer and her husband had been arrested for the grisly crime.

The Groveland Police Department said officers were called to a residence on Way Point Drive in Lake County on Sunday at about 9 p.m. for a wellness check.

'Police found that DiFraia made comments about a suicide pact involving pills about a month before the gruesome incident.'

When they entered the home, they found 82-year-old Vincent DiFraia sitting in his living room with a vacant look on his face and bleeding from injuries they determined to be self-inflicted.

He was transported to Orlando Health South Lake Hospital for treatment.

When officers searched the rest of the house, they found his 84-year-old wife covered in blood while lying in bed. A hammer was found next to her, while the walls and ceiling of the bedroom were also splattered with blood, police said.

They also reported finding dried blood on the floor leading to the bathroom and in the bathroom sink.

Police said the woman had a "large impact wound" on the side of her head and had likely died 24 hours before she was found.

They found other bloody items as well.

During their investigation, police found that DiFraia made comments about a suicide pact involving pills about a month before the gruesome incident.

Police believe DiFraia killed his wife with the hammer and later cut his wrists with a knife before police entered the home.

DiFraia is being held at the Lake County jail on a charge of first-degree murder.

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Neighbors told WESH-TV that the couple was a nice couple.

"We all still kind of just battling with it, and for the victim too, you know, she was a really nice lady as well," said one neighbor, who was not identified.

"For the most part, it's a quiet neighborhood; everybody get along," he added. "There's a lot of elderly people that live here, and most of the homeowners have been here since day one. And yeah, this is just sad and unfortunate."

His wife was identified as Evelyn DiFraia in the grand jury indictment of her husband.

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