Massachusetts man, 86, allegedly fatally shot his wife, 71, in a jealous rage, prosecutor says
Oct. 5 2021, Published 2:32 p.m. ET
A grand jury in Massachusetts has indicted an octogenarian in connection to the shooting death of his wife.
Edmund Silveira, 86, was arraigned on Oct. 4 in Fall River Superior Court for allegedly gunning down 71-year-old Dianne Silveira in what prosecutors described as a jealous rage outside their Taunton home on the evening of Aug. 29.
Boston’s WCVB-TV reported the victim was talking on the phone with her sister, Debbie, when the shooting occurred.
“Debbie heard something concerning — she heard her sister screaming, heard Mr. Silveira yelling in the background,” Assistant District Attorney Michael Scott said.
Dianne Silveira’s sister called 911 for help, and officers responding to the scene found the victim lying dead in the driveway.
“Mr. Silveira made a full statement to the police, after proper Miranda warnings, wherein he admitted to shooting his wife 'a couple of times,’” Scott said, according to WCVB-TV.
An autopsy reportedly showed the elderly woman was shot two times each in the head and back.
“She died almost instantly,” Scott said.
After the shooting, Edmund Silveira went back into the couple’s home, where a SWAT team using a tactical robot found him unconscious on the kitchen floor and suffering self-inflicted knife wounds on his wrists and neck.
“Edmund explained that he did not mean to take her life without taking his own,” a State Police affidavit reads, according to the Taunton Gazette.
Edmund recovered from his wounds and is now being held without bail for his wife’s murder. Pre-trial motions in the case are currently scheduled for Nov. 15.
The prosecutor noted police had gone to the Silveira’s home for a domestic incident in March because the victim “was in fear of an attack from Mr. Silveira at that time.”
According to the Taunton Gazette, Dianne Silveira moved to Connecticut after the incident, but her husband broke his hip over the summer and convinced her to come back to their home to care for him.