Murder: Wife stabbed disabled husband over 140 times and bludgeoned him with meat cleaver
(2/2/2022 Update) Motive revealed – wife did not want to share her assets with soon to be divorced hubby: Divorce, splitting of assets looming for woman charged with stabbing husband 140 times in Palm Springs. ~ WPBF
(Original article from February 21) A woman from Palm Springs, Florida, is being accused of stabbing and bludgeoning her disabled husband to death using knives and a meat cleaver. Joan Burke, 61, is looking at a charge of first-degree murder in the brutal slaying of her 62-year-old husband, Melvin Weller, who was discovered lying in a pool of blood on his kitchen floor.
According to CBS-12 News, Weller was found with over 140 stab wounds, plus a fractured skull caused by a meat cleaver. His body was discovered by his stepson.
On the evening of February 11, Weller’s stepson, 41-year-old Ricardo Green, returned to the residence after getting off work and found his stepfather lying on the kitchen floor in a pool of his own blood. When Green called 911, he told the operator that his stepdad looked like he was dead.
When officers arrived, they located the victim on the floor, surrounded by a pool of blood that covered more than half of the kitchen. ~ WPTV
Police learned during their preliminary investigation that Weller had trouble walking, had little to no grip strength and was physically disabled. Court documents stated that Weller had filed papers to divorce his wife, Joan Burke, back in December 2021.
Investigators found knives and a meat cleaver in the kitchen sink. Police also found a plastic bag sitting on the kitchen counter that contained Burke’s bloodstained nightgown, and a cell phone believed to be Weller’s. Police were able to easily discern that a physical struggle had gone down as “blood was splattered and smeared across walls, kitchen cabinets and counters,” according to The Palm Beach Post.
When police found Burke, she was in the home’s master bedroom lying in bed with visible cuts on the palms of her hands.
“It is very common for the offender to have lacerations to the palm of one or both hands when he or she stabs another person,” the police report said. “This is especially true when the victim is stabbed many times, as was the case with Mr. Weller’s death.”
The Medical Examiner confirmed that Weller sustained in excess of 140 stab wounds all over his body. He also suffered from a skull fracture that his wife used to strike him in the right rear area of his head.
Police said that when they found Burke in the bedroom, she was alert and conscience but unwilling or unable to speak with them. She was taken to JFK Hospital to be evaluated. But yesterday, she was ordered by a Palm Beach County judge to be jailed without bond.
Posted by Richard Webster, Ace News Today / Follow Richard on Facebook and Twitter
