83-year-old Man Beats His Wife With Hammer

An 83-year-old man, Calvin Payne was arrested by Howard County Police at their Columbia home on May 5, 2008, and charged with attempted murder his wife with a hammer.

The victim, an 81-year-old woman, Alma Payne called police at around 8pm and reported that her husband had struck her on her head with a hammer.

Officers said the victim had a severe head injury and was airlifted to the Shock Trauma Center. Her nephew Eric Figueroa described the condition of Alma, “every finger in both hands had been broken by the hammer. She has facial lacerations and broken bones to the right side of her face. On the left side of her head, she had 100 staples.” But her condition is stable now.

The police found Calvin Payne in the bathroom with blood on his clothes and hands. They also found a bloody hammer in their master bedroom.

The couple’s relatives said that Calvin Payne is getting violent over the last decade due to mental decline. However, the police do not reveal the motive of the old man in this incident.