00:00 They were teenage sweethearts, married for 67 years, when the unthinkable happened.
00:07 This afternoon homicide squad detectives charged a 92 year old male with murder in relation
00:14 to the death of a 92 year old female. It looks like she's been suffocated.
00:21 Donald Morley ended up in hospital after failing to kill himself, but he freely admitted killing
00:27 the 92 year old love of his life, Jean Morley, who'd been suffering from dementia.
00:33 He'd been struggling to cope, telling a welfare worker, "We've lived too long."
00:38 The court heard it was after a lunch with friends, which they had always loved, that
00:43 the pair discussed their loss of enjoyment in life.
00:47 Morley went to bed first and that's when he decided to end both their lives.
00:52 The crime was discovered by a health worker. He showed her his wife's body.
00:57 "That's my angel," he said. Today the judge said, while it was not motivated
01:02 by malice, murder remains murder, notwithstanding the age or infirmity of the victim or the
01:09 perpetrator. The forceful murder of one's spouse must be
01:13 denounced. Morley watched on via video link from the
01:17 hospice where he's being treated for cancer. Justice Mossop said punishment was not a primary
01:23 concern, but there was a need for general deterrence, even if the penalty was effectively
01:29 a life sentence. Morley has been sentenced to nine years, with
01:33 a non-parole period of four and a half years, but he's not expected to live beyond six months.
01:39 [BLANK_AUDIO]
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