Police: Longview man confesses to killing his wife
BURKE CO, NC (WJZY) - Detectives said a man shot and killed his wife, then drove to the police station and confessed to the crime.
A family member told FOX 46 Charlotte Ronnie Lane worshiped the ground his wife walked on, so why did he allegedly kill her?
A cross sits outside a home where the couple described as "God-fearing" lived. It's the same house where there was crime scene tape Wednesday.
"This is the last thing on the face of the Earth that I would have ever have dreamed to happen," said Lisa Bumgarner, the couple's niece.
In a small town that spans just eight square miles family is perplexed and crushed over the news. Police said 61-year-old Ronnie Lane shot and killed his wife, 60-year-old Audrey Lane, and then drove his pickup truck to the police station and confessed.
"That is not my uncle. The eyes were never that empty. There is something mentally wrong with my uncle, and I pray that they will get him help," Bumgarner said looking at Lane's booking photo.
Bumgarner said her Aunt Audrey and Uncle Ronnie were married for more than 40 years.
"This was a match made in heaven by God himself and it was perfect," she said.
Family members told FOX 46 Charlotte Ronnie was a church deacon and Audery cared for young children in the church nursery.
"She was like a mother, he was like a father to me. Never once did I hear him raise his voice," Bumgarner explained.
So why did Ronnie do what police said he admitted to? Bumgarner said her uncle is not a violent person, but he had been having a couple of issues lately.
"He had been having some forgetfulness and small problems, and my aunt was trying to get him to go to the doctor, but like any man, he was stubborn," she said.
Even so, she has so idea what might have happened inside the home.
"I don't understand. I don't know why, and we may never know," Bumgarner said.
All she knows is that home and her family will never been whole again.
Ronnie Lane is currently in jail and being held without bond.