Vicar Can’t Stand Static, Slays Wife

LONDON — A 74-year-old vicar--who flew into a rage and clubbed his 85-year-old wife to death when he was unable to find his favorite program on the radio--was sentenced to spend the rest of his life in a monastery in southern England.

“I am mad, bad, and I have murdered my wife, who I loved dearly,” the Rev. Shirley Freeman said after killing his wife of 46 years, Clarinda.

Judge Robert Lymbery told Freeman that he was committing him to a monastery because he was too old for prison. The prosecutor had told the court that Freeman bludgeoned his wife with various objects over a two-hour period when he could not tune in to the popular music program, “Desert Island Discs.”