Background: Preston Health Center in Hilton Head, S.C. (Google Maps). Inset: Harriett Recker (Beaufort County Sheriff”s Office).
A South Carolina woman was charged with murder after police found her 81-year-old husband shot dead at an assisted living facility.
The Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office announced in a Facebook post that 82-year-old Harriett Kay Recker was arrested Friday. According to police, deputies responded to calls of a shooting at Preston Health Center at the Cypress in Hilton Head at around 10:30 a.m. When they arrived, they found Dennis Recker, 81, suffering from gunshot wounds in a room at the facility. Harriett Recker was there, “alongside her spouse.”
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Dennis Recker was officially identified as the victim by the Beaufort County Coroner on Monday after his family had been notified of his death. His wife was arrested on Friday and booked into the Beaufort County Detention Center, and she is still on the inmate roster as of Monday afternoon.
The Preston Health Center provides short- and long-term health care, including memory care for patients with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. It was not made clear which spouse was a patient at the facility.
Police said that Dennis Recker received emergency medical care at the scene but later succumbed to his injuries. Investigators did not provide a possible reason for the crime but stated that the investigation was ongoing. They added that there was no additional threat to the public following the fatal shooting.
Harriett Recker was charged with murder and possession of a weapon during a violent crime. She is being held without bond. She was scheduled to be arraigned on Monday.
