88-year-old Columbia man charged with killing wife

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) - Police say an 88-year-old Columbia man accused of fatally stabbing his 86-year-old wife told investigators he didn't want the couple to be a burden on their family.

The Columbia Daily Tribune reports (http://bit.ly/1nY5Gd2) Donald Marvin Rowland was charged Friday with first-degree murder and armed criminal action. The Boone County prosecutor requested cash-only bond of $1 million, but it wasn't clear if Rowland was jailed. Court records didn't list a lawyer.

Columbia police were called Friday afternoon to the couple's home after an adult daughter reported finding them in their bed.

Police said in a probable-cause statement that the wife, Betty Rowland, was stabbed in the chest and Donald Rowland had what appeared to be self-inflicted injuries.

A neighbor told the newspaper that Betty Rowland had recently had a stroke.