Inset: Rodney Olmsted (Allegan County Sheriff’s Office). Background: News footage of the Olmsteds’ home in Valley Township, Mich. (WWMT).
A Michigan man was charged with murder after police said he admitted to violently attacking and killing his wife in the basement of their home.
Rodney Olmsted, 65, is in custody at the Allegan County Jail after being arrested in connection with the death of his wife, 58-year-old Rosa Mercedes Olmsted. According to court documents obtained by local CBS affiliate WWMT, Allegan County Sheriff’s deputies were asked to do a welfare check at the Olmsteds’ home in Valley Township, Michigan, on July 23. Rosa Olmsted’s son told police he had not heard from his mother since July 16, and a neighbor of the Olmsteds said she had not seen her since July 5. Rosa Olmsted’s workplace said she did not show up for work on July 20.
Police said the Olmsteds’ neighbor told them that Rodney Olmsted had a history of being aggressive with his wife.
Love true crime? Sign up for our newsletter, The Law&Crime Docket, to get the latest real-life crime stories delivered right to your inbox.
According to court documents, police were unable to make contact with anyone during a welfare check on July 23. The Olmsteds’ neighbors went to the house out of concern and no one answered the door, but they told police they heard someone walking up the stairs inside.
The day after the welfare check, the Olmsteds’ neighbors planned to report Rosa Olmsted missing. Her son told them that he was afraid Rodney Olmsted had “done something to her.”
Deputies came to the Olmsteds’ home again. When they saw “blood on the wall” and “debris on the floor,” they forced their way inside. Police said Rodney Olmsted was located in a bedroom, “on his hands and knees with a large amount of blood on the floor.” He had reportedly cut his own wrists and neck.
According to the court documents, police found Rosa Olmsted’s body in a bedroom in the basement of the home, covered with a blanket, “blood pooled around her head.” Police said there was blood spatter on a mirror, the headboard of the bed, and the wall behind the bed. “Lodged” in her neck was a large knife, and an 18-inch wooden club, covered in blood, was found nearby.
Police said Rodney Olmsted told them he strangled his wife before beating her in the head with the club. When he was worried that Rosa Olmsted would use a voice-activated virtual assistant to call for help, he allegedly stabbed her in the neck and the leg.
The medical examiner determined that Rosa Olmsted likely died at least 24 hours before she was found.
After being treated at the hospital, Rodney Olmsted was arrested and charged with open murder. He is being held at the Allegan County Jail on a $500,000 cash bond. His next court appearance was scheduled for Aug. 6.
The post Husband quickly beat his wife to death with a club before she could use voice-activated virtual assistant to call for help: Police first appeared on Law & Crime.
