Man says stress, gas prices pushed him to beat wife

Man says stress, gas prices pushed him to beat wife

BY AUSTIN L. MILLER
STAR-BANNER
Mar. 1, 2008

OCALA — Richard Close, 77, said he drank two beers a day; it helped ease the stress. He was overworked. His wife was sick. High gasoline prices had hit home, especially with all those trips taking her to and from kidney dialysis.

Close said he went to get a beer Thursday night. His wife told him he'd had enough.

"I just blew my stack," he said.
Marion County Sheriff's deputies were called to the couple's home in Smith Lake Estates, which is off County Road 25 east of Belleview. Betty Close told them her husband had beaten her.

He had been drinking, and when he drinks he gets angry, she told deputies. She said they argued and he grabbed the arm used during dialysis. "I can break every bone in your body," he said, according to a Sheriff's Office report. She said he choked her and pushed her down.

Richard Close was arrested on a charge of aggravated battery and battery on a person older than 65.

"I blame it on fatigue," he said Friday during an interview at the Marion County Jail. "I'm working 19 hours days, seven days a week, and when I'm told I can't do this and I can't do that, I just blew my stack.

"I've never done anything in 26 years to harm her. I've dedicated my life just to take care of her," a somber Close said.

Close said his life turned upside down when doctors in Illinois placed Betty, 74, on kidney dialysis.

Over the Christmas holidays, his wife of 26 years went to visit her family. She had to go to the hospital, and doctors placed her on dialysis.

When she returned, Close said, his stress began.

Because of the high price of gas, driving to and from The Villages for Betty's dialysis treatment costs a lot. Before, he said, their gas bill was $60 a month; it climbed to $140 a month.

In the past 18 days, Close said, he received three big bills: his wife's insurance bill of $347, the homeowner's insurance bill of $851 a year, and the monthly bill of $358.88 for their 2005 Chrysler van.

He said he and his wife receive $1,827.53 in Social Security payments and other benefits. Medicare and his wife's insurance pick up the medical bills.

But that income just isn't enough, Close said. For seven years he has worked as a security guard in his community to make extra money. The added responsibility, he said, weighs heavily on him.

"We wake up at 4 a.m. because her treatment begins at 6 a.m. She finishes at 10 a.m. and we try to eat at 11 a.m. After that, we go home, and then I do some laundry and house work so I can take some of the pressure off her," he said during the interview.

With the charges, Close said, he cannot go home. It is a domestic case, and he is forbidden to go near his wife. Though he says he has called someone to post bail for him, he doesn't know where to turn.

"I don't have anyone to turn to, and I'm too proud to ask for help," he said. "I'm sorry it happened. It's not me."

Betty Close could not be reached for comment.

She told a deputy that her husband drinks heavily and his temper has "become increasingly worse," according to the Sheriff's Office report. She and her sister told the deputy they were going to seek an injunction for protection. She planned to stay with her sister until her son arrives, then she would move to Illinois.

"I don't have any idea what I would do," Close said when asked about her leaving him. "Life wouldn't be worth living."

Austin L. Miller may be reached at austin.miller@starbanner.com or 352-867-4118.

http://www.ocala.com/article/20080301/NEWS/803010364/1001/NEWS01