Iowa man allegedly slits wife’s throat over illness

Content warning: This article contains graphic descriptions of murder. Please take care while reading.

A Perry, IA man called 911 Sunday night, March 16 this year, and said his wife was dead and he killed her. 75-year-old Richard Hoesing later told police he murdered his wife, 73-year-old Jean Hoesing, to “put her out of her misery,” according to Hoesing’s criminal complaint viewed by Des Moines’ WHO 13.

Jean reportedly lived with multiple sclerosis and bipolar disorder, and when police arrived, they found Jean dead in a bedroom of the home with a “severe laceration across the front of her throat,” Hoesing’s criminal complaint said. Authorities also found a knife, which appeared to have been cleaned but still had some blood on it. Richard, 75, also reportedly had blood on his hands and clothing.

Richard cooperated with officers at the scene and was booked at the Dallas County Jail Monday morning on first-degree murder charges. It’s unclear when Richard is expected to appear in court.

“This was an isolated incident and there is no threat to the community,” Perry Police Chief James Archer said in a press release referring to the case, according to the Des-Moines Register.

The Pennsylvania case

James Christopher Frank, 57, is accused of stabbing his wife Deborah Denise Glaser to death inside their home in Easton, Pennsylvania: https://t.co/uV0O2wHZ4g

— NBC10 Philadelphia (@NBCPhiladelphia) March 12, 2025

News of Jean’s death and Richard’s arrest came just about a week after Bethlehem Township police in Pennsylvania, announced Deborah Glaser had also been found dead in a bathtub at her home.

Glaser’s husband,  James Frank, reportedly told cops when they arrived to perform a welfare check his wife was dead in the house and he “sliced her neck open. It was a pretty gruesome injury,” District Attorney Stephen Baratta said, according to Pennsylvania news outlet WFMZ.

Police also reportedly found knives, razor blades, box cutters, and a mallet, at the scene. Frank, 57, who had no previous criminal record, also said he used a hammer and knife to puncture her chest and make sure his wife was dead.

Baratta added, “I don’t want to call it a confession, but he made admissions after his participation in the death of his wife.” Baratta said, “It was gruesome and on a very human level, upsetting, especially given that it’s a domestic situation.”

There had been no previous reports of intimate partner in Frank and Glaser’s relationship. Reports say they had been married for more than 10 years.

Frank was booked at the Northhampton County Jail without bail on first-degree murder charges. He’s expected to appear in court on March 25. It’s not immediately clear if a motive for Glaser’s alleged murder has been determined.

If you are experiencing domestic abuse, or if you believe someone you know is being abused, contact The National Domestic Violence Hotline. The hotline can be reached at 1-800-799-SAFE or spoken with online via the hotline’s website. Mobile phone owners can also text “START” to the number 88788