Missouri coroner: Man charged with killing has dementia

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- A Missouri coroner says a man charged with killing his wife has dementia.

The Columbia Daily Tribune reported Randolph County Coroner Gerald Luntsford said he talked to people who knew 81-year-old Vernon Head. One friend told Luntsford that Head didn't even know his own name.

Head is charged with first-degree murder in the weekend shooting death of his wife, 77-year-old Vickye Head. Investigators found her dead inside the couple's rural Moberly home after Vernon Head went to a local bank and reported to a teller his wife had been shot and was dead.

Randolph County Sheriff Mark Nichols said he can't confirm anything about the defendant's mental condition.

Public defender Edward Guinn said he can't comment about the case.

Information from: Columbia Daily Tribune, http://www.columbiatribune.com