Man Pleads 'No Contest' to Killing 73-Year-Old Wife

A 73-year-old Alameda man has pleaded no contest to voluntary manslaughter for fatally shooting his wife last year in what he said was an act of mercy because she was in constant pain.

Jerry Canfield was charged with murder for the shooting death of his wife, Joann Canfield, at the couple’s home in the 2200 block of Clinton Avenue in Oakland on October 26, 2014, and his preliminary hearing was scheduled to be held later this week.

But on Friday Canfield entered a plea to manslaughter in a deal with prosecutors that calls for him to receive a three-year state prison term when he’s sentenced by Alameda County Superior Court Judge Thomas Reardon on Jan. 14.

Alameda police Lt. Jill Ottaviano said Canfield walked into the city’s police station at about 6 p.m. on Oct. 26, 2014, and said he had killed his wife by shooting her in the head.

Ottaviano said Canfield “was very forthcoming” about the shooting and said he had planned it.

Alameda police Officer Alan Kuboyama wrote in a probable cause statement that Canfield told police that he and his wife “had previously agreed that if she ever became ill to the point of being in constant pain, he would kill her.”

Kuboyama said when police went to the couple’s home they found Joann Canfield in her bed with a gunshot wound to the head.

The Alameda County Public Defender’s Office, which represents Jerry Canfield, declined to comment on his case today.

Canfield is being held at the Santa Rita Jail in Dublin in lieu of $100,000 bail.

--Bay City News; Image via Shutterstock