FERGUS FALLS, Minn. (KFGO) – A rural Perham man has been charged with 2nd degree murder in the death of his wife.
79-year-old Paul Mart is accused of killing 77-year-old Jean Mart at their home on Big Pine Lake. Her body was discovered Monday afternoon after Otter Tail County dispatch received a call of a possible homicide.
According to the complaint, Paul Mart said that he had killed his wife by bashing her head into the floor. He then went to bed and realized the next morning that she was dead. He said it happened Saturday night during an argument.
Mart surrendered during negotiations that involved a family member. A handgun was recovered in a wastebasket that appeared to have blood on it.
Bail for Mart was set at $1.5 million with no conditions and $750,000 with conditions of release. Mart would to have post $75,000 dollars cash to be released from jail.
