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Osceola News-Gazette
An 83-year-old Poinciana man with dementia killed his 82-year-old wife after he believed she was having an affair.
David Lewinson who lives on May Fair Drive was charged by the Polk County Sheriff’s Office with first-degree murder.
“This is really one of the more sad investigations, homicide investigations we’ve ever done,” said Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd during a press conference on Wednesday.
Judd said that Lewinson, who is suffering from dementia, killed his wife after believing she was having an affair.
According to a Sheriff’s Office report, at about 2:43 a.m., on Wednesday, Lewinson called 911 and reported that he had an altercation with his wife and that and was dead.
When the 911 operator asked how she was killed, he said he used a "string," the report stated.
When deputies arrived at the scene they found the victim lying on a bathroom floor.
During an interview with Lewinson, he changed his account of what occurred several times. First, he said he was in an argument with his wife because she hid his wallet. Lewinson said he attempted to get his wallet, causing them both to fall to the floor and he believed his wife struck her head on the floor.
He then said he cut a strip off of a window curtain and held it up in front of his wife but he did not wrap it around her neck.
Upon inspection of the victim, several small threads were observed on her neck and back area. A search warrant for the residence was obtained and during a search, a strip of window curtain was located in the living room area. The window curtain had threads that appeared to be the same as the threads found on the victim’s neck and back, the report stated.
A witness to the incident communicates by sign language, so a certified interpreter responded to the scene. During an interview with the witness, he said he observed the suspect wrap a piece of curtain around the victim’s neck.
During an autopsy of the victim, a medical examiner reported that the victim had a horizontal ligature mark on her neck, consistent with manual strangulation. She also had a new bite mark on right shoulder and old bite marks on left shoulder and left arm.
Judd called the wife the “anchor of the family” as she took care of her husband along with their “significantly mentally-challenged “ son.
Lewinson is currently in the medical unit of the Polk County Jail while his son has gone to live with another son in another state.
