Background: News footage of the parking lot where Richard Hocking allegedly shot his wife on Jan. 3 (KGO). Inset: Richard Hocking (Alameda County Sheriff”s Office).
A California man has allegedly told police that he planned to kill his wife of 60 years as her health deteriorated.
Richard Hocking, 93, was the one who placed the 911 call shortly after midnight on Jan. 3 and allegedly told dispatchers that he shot and killed his wife, 86-year-old wife, who has been identified publicly as Patricia. In a press release, the Fremont Police Department said Hocking “wanted to turn himself in” after officers found his wife dead of a gunshot wound in the couple’s van.
Local ABC affiliate KGO obtained court documents that revealed what Hocking told police about the alleged shooting, including his apparent motive. Police said Hocking told them “his wife had been struggling with health issues,” then told them that killing her was “necessary.”
According to police, Hocking had been “planning” to kill Patricia “for about a month” when he convinced Patricia to get in their Ford Transit van with him, then drove to a shopping center parking lot where he fatally shot her in the head. Police said Hocking left the couple’s home that night “knowing that he was going to kill her.”
KGO spoke to a neighbor who knew the couple, who had been married for 60 years. One neighbor told the station that Patricia suffered from diabetes and other health issues. She told the station Patricia was “almost in [a] chair. Not able to do chores or anything. [Hocking] was taking care of her completely.”
Hocking reportedly has “serious” health issues of his own, including COPD, according to the couple’s neighbors.
Hocking was charged with murder with an enhancement for using a firearm. He is in custody at the Santa Rita Jail, where he is being held without bail. His plea hearing is scheduled for Jan. 12.
