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Man brutally strangles 81-year-old wife to death in their Middle Tennessee home, gets life in prison
Summary by The Nashville Editorial Desk · Byline on the source page: Chasity Maynard , as published by WSMV 4 News (NBC affiliate)
· September 4, 2026
· 1 min read
Photo: WSMV 4 News (NBC affiliate) · view original
Story provenance No corrections
Summary created by The Nashville Editorial Desk — automated, rule-governed Byline on source page Chasity Maynard, as published by WSMV 4 News (NBC affiliate) Original story Read at the source Source published Sep 4, 2026 Indexed here Sep 4, 2026 AI assistance Automated summary drawn from the source’s own published text Prepublication human review No — editorial rules, flagged-item review, and published samples
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Key points The conviction was announced by District Attorney General Thomas Dean, following the jury's verdict. A jury has convicted an 83-year-old man of premeditated first-degree murder for killing his 81-year-old wife.
A jury has convicted an 83-year-old man of premeditated first-degree murder for killing his 81-year-old wife. The man, Joseph Anthony Scrofne, admitted to smothering his wife with a pillow and then strangling her with a rope after she began to struggle. He was automatically sentenced to life in prison. The incident occurred at their home in January 2025.
Further details about the case are available, but the information provided is graphic and disturbing.
The conviction was announced by District Attorney General Thomas Dean, following the jury's verdict.
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WSMV 4 News (NBC affiliate) reported and published this story. The Nashville selected it, summarised the key facts above, and links to the original. We did not report this story and we added no reporting of our own to it.
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As published by WSMV 4 News (NBC affiliate) . The Nashville selects stories from publishers’ feeds, summarises them, and links back to the publisher that reported them. We add no reporting of our own. We attribute every source, link to the original report, and follow a documented editorial standards policy. To understand how stories are selected and reviewed, read our about page .
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Category: News ·
Published: September 4, 2026 ·
Source: WSMV 4 News (NBC affiliate) ·
Reading time: 1 min
Frequently asked about this story
What is this story about? A jury has convicted an 83-year-old man of premeditated first-degree murder for killing his 81-year-old wife. The man, Joseph Anthony Scrofne, admitted to smothering his wife with a pillow and then…
When was this published? This article was first published on September 4, 2026 by WSMV 4 News (NBC affiliate) and curated for The Nashville readers.
Who reported this story? This story was reported by Chasity Maynard at WSMV 4 News (NBC affiliate). To learn more about how The Nashville selects and reviews stories, see our editorial standards .
Where can I find related coverage? See more News coverage from The Nashville, or browse our daily briefing and topic hubs .
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