HAZEL PARK (WWJ) -- An Oakland County man who allegedly killed his wife and proceeded to sleep next to her body for days has pleaded to a lesser crime.
Jeff Charles Sherwood, 47, pleaded guilty Jan. 24 to second-degree homicide in the death of his wife, 64-year-old Susan Louise Klepsch. In exchange, his original first-degree homicide charge was dismissed.
According to officials, Klepsch died from blunt force trauma to the head and neck in March 2020 at the Hazel Park home she shared with Sherwood.
Based on evidence from the Oakland County Medical Examiner and police investigators, it's believed he had been sleeping with Klepsch's body for up to a week.
Police, acting on a tip, had gone to the couple’s home on Mar. 28, 2020 and found Klepsch’s body.
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While investigators were on scene, Sherwood reportedly tried to hang himself in the basement.
According to police, Sherwood initially said he and his wife had made a murder-suicide pact because they feared they’d die from COVID-19. Later, he admitted that he beat and strangled her after she accused him of infidelity.
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Sherwood was declared competent to stand trial after undergoing a psychiatric evaluation, but he later opted out of trial and pleaded to the second-degree homicide charge.
Sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 17 at the Oakland County Circuit Court.