83 yr-old man charged with trying to murder his wife

Posted by Jeff Quinton on May 7, 2008

Howard County police arrested an 83-year-old man Monday night on charges that he tried to kill his wife at their Columbia home.

Calvin Ralph Payne was charged with attempted murder and assault after he allegedly struck his wife, Alma Payne, 81, with a hammer.

Police said Alma Payne called police to report an assault around 8 p.m. Tuesday. Officials found the victim at the home with a severe head injury. She was flown to Shock Trauma in serious but stable condition. Family members told WBAL TV 11 News that she was blinded in one eye.

“Every finger in both hands had been broken by the hammer. She has facial lacerations and broken bones to the right side of her face. On the left side of her head, she had 100 staples,” said nephew Eric Figueroa.

Officers said they found Calvin Payne in a bathroom of the home with blood on his clothes and hands and a knife in his hand. Officials said they found a hammer covered in blood in the master bedroom.

Detectives have not determined a motive in the incident, but relatives of the two said that Calvin Payne had grown increasingly violent over the last decade due to mental decline.