An 81-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of murdering his wife on Friday afternoon, according to Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department officials.
The suspect, Gale Mortimer, 81, lived on the 33700 block of Bouquet Canyon Road in Saugus, the LASD booking logs said. Deputies responded to the residence after someone called reporting there was a murder, according to Lt. Steve De Jong with the Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau.
The victim was Mortimer’s wife, Penny, 80, of Santa Clarita, according to Los Angeles County Medical Examiner officials.
The cause of death was ligature strangulation, according to Medical Examiner officials.
De Jong said that Gale attempted to commit suicide after killing his wife, but deputies prevented it and arrested him on suspicion of murder.
He had a preliminary arraignment on Tuesday in which he was charged with one count of murder, according to De Jong.
The suspect is being held in lieu of $2 million bail, according to De Jong.
This is a developing story, and additional information will be added as it becomes available.
