Police: Man said he poured gas, set fire to disabled wife

NORFOLK, Va. – A judge wants a grand jury to consider the case of a man who told police he poured gasoline on his disabled wife and set her on fire.

Fifty-eight-year-old Delano Grangruth is charged with second-degree murder in the death of 61-year-old Kathleen White-Grangruth.

The Virginian-Pilot reported on Monday’s hearing. Norfolk police Detective Bill Cogswell testified that Grangruth initially denied knowing about the April 17 fire. The detective said he confessed after hours of questioning that he had attacked her in a drunken rage after they argued for days about money.

The woman’s charred body was found in a chair over a candle. A caregiver said she suffered from dementia and schizophrenia and needed a wheelchair after hip surgery.

Grangruth told reporters in April that he’s “not a monster.”

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Information from: The Virginian-Pilot, http://pilotonline.com