Man Who Killed Wife Over Coffee Maker Fight Should be Tested for PTSD: Defense

The defense attorney for a Barrington man accused of shooting his wife to death over a fight regarding their coffee maker says his client should be tested for post-traumatic stress disorder and plans to use an insanity defense at his trial.

During a court hearing on Thursday, attorney Robert Hauser requested a defense expert sit in on psychological tests -- a move that is typically rare in criminal cases -- and determine whether Larry Lotz, 65, is suffering from PTSD. Prosecutors argued having an observer could “change the dynamic” of the testing.

A Lake County judge will decide during a status hearing in January whether to allow the defense expert.

Lotz is currently free on a $3 million bail in the murder case. Lotz is charged with first-degree murder and is accused of shooting his wife, Karen Lotz three times — once in the head — during the early morning hours of Jan. 15 with a .45-caliber pistol, according to police. He later admitted he did so to officers who arrived at their home in the 400 block of North Cook Street.

Upon arriving at the home around 1 a.m., police summoned an ambulance and Karen Lotz, 59, was rushed to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

Lake County prosecutors said Lotz shot his wife to death after the two got into a fight over Karen Lotz nagging Larry Lotz for leaving the coffee maker on. In a recorded interrogation, Lotz told Barrington police officers he tried to hide from his wife in his office above the garage, but she followed him there and unlocked the door, according to Lake County prosecutors, at which point the husband opened fire with his handgun. He fired four times, striking his wife three times, according to prosecutors.

“He called his son first,” Stephen Scheller, felony review chief for the state’s attorney’s office, told the Daily Herald. “His son said, ‘Call 911.’ When he called 911, he stated, in his words, quote, ‘I just shot my wife. I just shot my wife. Please, send an ambulance.’”

Photo credit: Lake County booking mug for Larry Lotz/photo from Harper College of Karen Lotz