Old woman accuses her husband of killing her 35 years ago

An elderly Pennsylvania woman was charged this week with killing her husband after investigators matched DNA with evidence taken from the crime scene in a case unsolved for more than three decades.

Judith Ann Jarvis, 76, was arrested and charged with one count of murder for the August 1987 shooting death of her husband, Carl Jarvis, Whtm reported.

The crime stemmed from a domestic dispute when the woman reported to the police that her husband was breaking things and she was very scared.

When uniformed officers arrived at the Jarvis home, they met Judith outside the home, who said she had not entered the home since calling them.

Officers attempted to contact him unsuccessfully before finding him naked on the bedroom floor with two gunshot wounds to the head.

A revolver was found on the bed next to him. An autopsy confirmed the man was shot dead, but it could not be a suicide.

According to agents, no one but the couple was home at the time of the murder.

Blood was found on Judith’s pyjamas, although she claimed it was her own and came from a goose bite. The clothing was seized and stored as evidence.

In October 2020, more than three decades after Carl Jarvis’ death, investigators analyzed DNA on Judith’s bloody pajamas and compared it to a lock of her husband’s hair. The evidence found was considered sufficient to charge her.

The elderly woman was arrested and charged with one count of murder, and will remain in the Cumberland County Jail after being denied bail.

That wouldn’t be possible without new technologies like DNA testing, said Perry County District Attorney Lauren Eichelberger. “This new technology allowed us to bring charges in this 35-year-old case,” he said.