On the morning of June 20, 2021, a gunshot in a Lincoln, Nebraska home ended with 78-year-old Janet Ruth Chisholm Kotopka found by her son with a severe head wound. She was rushed to a local hospital in critical condition and died on June 23, 2021.

Police quickly focused on Janet’s husband of 57 years, 80-year-old John Kotopka, who was arrested at the couple’s home near 18th and Dakota streets the day of the shooting. Investigators say he admitted to shooting his wife and told them he’d been exhausted from serving as her primary caregiver after her Alzheimer’s diagnosis two years earlier. He reportedly told investigators he had been contemplating harming her for about ten days and was worried about the financial strain of placing her in a care facility. The couple’s firearm was recovered and charges were upgraded to first-degree murder after Janet’s death.

John Kotopka was held at the Lancaster County Department of Corrections awaiting trial; he later died in a hospital while still in custody and officials said he was being treated for a chronic medical condition. A grand jury inquiry into his death was opened. If anyone knew Janet, her care needs, or the circumstances at the couple’s home, please share information with Lincoln authorities.