A Massachusetts Octogenarian Believed His Wife Was Having an Affair. So He Shot Her in a Jealous Rage.

A Massachusetts octogenarian recently was sentenced to life in prison after he shot his wife to death after he wrongly believed she was having an affair.

Edmund Silveira, now 88, was arraigned on Oct. 4, 2021, in Fall River Superior Court for 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, 2021.

“This was a case based on jealousy and unfounded paranoia that resulted in the defendant murdering his wife,” District Attorney Tom Quinn said, WJAR reported. “The defendant’s selfish actions resulted in a terrible loss for her many family members and friend.”

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 four times, including in the head and back. The district attorney said Silveira fired a total of eight shots at his wife.

“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. According to WJAR, he later admitted to police he also attempted to shoot himself but his gun jammed.

“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.

Prosecutors noted police had responded to the Silveira’s home months before the deadly incident for a domestic incident 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.

Silveira will become eligible for parole after serving 15 years. He will be 103.