Man Accused of Murdering Wife with Hammer, Burying Body

A Tennessee man who has allegedly admitted to fatally hitting his 76-year-old wife in the head with a hammer initially told her children that she had decided to take off on her own because of a terminal illness, according to authorities.

A Tennessee man who has allegedly admitted to fatally hitting his 76-year-old wife in the head with a hammer initially told her children that she had decided to take off on her own because of a terminal illness, according to authorities. 

Joseph Glynn, 70, was arrested by Nashville officers and has been charged with criminal homicide, abuse of corpse and evidence tampering in relation to the death of Jackie Glynn on Jan. 1, according to a statement from the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department. 

Jackie’s body was recovered from their property in Dekalb County, Tenn., last Friday, according to the statement, and her car was found in a separate location. 

Joseph allegedly said he threw away the murder weapon and sold some of Jackie’s belongings following her death, WJLE and WSMV reported, citing authorities. 

He allegedly carried out the attack in their Nashville, Tenn., residence and drove Jackie’s body to a seven-acre tract of land in Dekalb County that the couple had bought two years ago, Sheriff Patrick Ray said, according to WJLE.

One day before authorities allege he admitted to killing his wife, Joseph attempted to list on the market the property where he buried her, police said, according to the outlets. 

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Dekalb County authorities arrived at the burial site on Friday after an investigation into Jackie’s disappearance revealed that the couple owned that property, Ray said, according to WJLE.

Once there, they encountered Jackie’s son, who was also looking for her, Ray alleged, according to the outlet. A neighbor also told authorities that she had seen a hole that had been dug on the property which had been covered up recently, the outlet reported.  

“We found out that the hole was dug on December 16 by a contractor who had been told by Mr. Glynn that he wanted the hole for a burn pit,” Sheriff Ray said, according to the outlet. 

Joseph is being held on  $1,030,000 bond, according to the Nashville police department. It wasn't immediately clear if he has entered a plea; a lawyer listed on court records did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comments.

If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.

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