Husband of 85-year-old woman in Montgomery County arrested for her murder
The argument started over the cost of veterinary care for their cat, police said.
Police in Montgomery County arrested an 84-year-old man accused of killing his wife during an argument over veterinary care of their cat.
Barton Seltmann has been charged with first-degree and third-degree murder in the death of Margaret Seltmann, 85.
Barton Seltmann called 911 to the couple’s Lower Pottsgrove Township home shortly before 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, “clearly portraying” he didn’t know what happened to his wife, who he said was beaten and “bleeding from the head,” according to the affidavit of probable cause.
Seltmann told operators the kitchen had been “ransacked” and he believed his wife was dead.
Margaret Seltmann was dead when Lower Pottsgrove Township Police arrived at the scene. They found a small black-handled kitchen knife under her body and shards of glass from a broken candleholder.
Police found her husband on the rear porch with blood on his hands, face, and clothes.
As paramedics treated injuries on Barton Seltmann’s hand, police said he made several statements about how he’d hurt his wife during a fight. He was then taken to the police department.
In an interview with police, Barton Seltmann said the couple was fighting over the money for their cat’s veterinary care when she grabbed a knife and said she was going to kill him. He said he took a chair in response and pushed it into his wife, causing her to fall and hit her head. As she was on the ground, Barton Seltmann told police he continued to hit her with his fist, then used the candleholder to hit her head. He told police he didn’t see a knife in her hand at that point.
As Barton Seltmann struck his wife, he said she told him he was killing her. He told police at a certain point his wife “went to sleep.”
Detectives found a large amount of blood around Margaret Seltmann’s head with blood spatter indicating she’d been hit “numerous times” while on the floor, according to the affidavit.
Barton Seltmann is being held without bail at the Montgomery County Correctional Facility. His preliminary hearing is slated for Tuesday.