90-year-old NY man sentenced for battering wife of nearly 68 years to death with a hammer

NY man, 90, sentenced in wife’s battering death

BUFFALO, N.Y. — A 90-year-old western New York man has been sentenced to 17 1/2 years in prison for battering his wife of nearly 68 years to death with a hammer.

John Bunz stumbled on his way into court in Buffalo on Wednesday and was helped to his chair by deputies. He pleaded guilty in July to first-degree manslaughter.

Bunz had faced a more serious second-degree murder charge, but prosecutors agreed to the plea because of his age.

He admitted hitting 89-year-old Virginia Bunz about 30 times with a hammer after the couple argued in March at the retirement village apartment they shared in the suburb of Amherst.

Bunz was hospitalized briefly after the attack for injuries described as self-inflicted.

Bunz is a retired chemist and technician.