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Man indicted for second degree murder of wife in Elizabeth City

Posted at 4:54 PM, Mar 16, 2017
and last updated 2017-03-16 16:58:31-04

Samuel Frank Mansfield

ELIZABETH CITY, N.C. – A man who is accused of killing his wife has been formally indicted for Second Degree Murder.

Police said Thursday that a Grand Jury returned the indictment.

Police arrived to a home in the 100 block of Golfclub Drive the morning of December 14 to find Samuel Frank Mansfield walking down the driveway with his hands in the air after revealing to dispatchers he’d shot and killed his wife, Phyllis.

According to court documents Mansfield told police he was in the process of finding an assisted living home for his wife and one morning realized she would be ‘living like a caged animal’ and that he ‘knew what he had to do’.

The documents also said Mansfield grabbed a gun, called Phyllis into the garage and shot her. He then stayed with her until she took her last breath before calling 911.

Mansfield was previously charged with first-degree murder, but was released from jail on bond when a grand jury failed to indict him.

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