Grandpa Beats Wife With Elephant Statue On Christmas Over Jelly Shots

A pensioner avoided trial for beating his wife to death with an elephant statue over jelly shots in 2019 Christmas Day. Edward Rowen, 83, hit his wife Rosalie, 56, in their Creswick home that evening at a "fit of rage."

Rosalie was sent to the hospital and died in the early hours of the next morning.

Edward was characterized as 'grumpy,' and following a quarrel about jelly shots during the festivities, he pushed or assaulted his wife, according to reports.

After an argument about jelly shots, he pushed Rosalie. Edward's daughter said that her father likes sweets, but that he didn't realize the shots were alcoholic. Rowen was spotted yelling on the street by neighbors at 10 p.m. that night, nearly two hours after they had left the party.

They claimed he was babbling about getting angry because the women had warned him not to drink.

He'd already had three when Rosalie tried to stop him from drinking anymore, even though he'd previously consumed four or five beers earlier in the day.

He said that when he returned home, he was still angry and that when his wife began to 'pester' him about his behavior, he became enraged and assaulted her.

While his family was unconcerned about the amount of alcohol he had consumed, they were concerned that he hadn't eaten.

Even after his incapacity to face prosecution for the crime, Supreme Court Justice Leslie Taylor ruled Edward guilty of his wife's murder on June 17, Thursday.

Officials said he has Alzheimer's disease, and his decline rendered him unsuitable for trial. According to Justice Taylor, he should be supervised, with more details to be established at a later date.

Edward will be likely placed in the Monash Psychogeriatric Unit for supervision. He is currently in prison for custody.

Edward's lawyer, Tim Marsh, said Rosalie's death was still an "inexplicable crime" and that the previous feud over the jelly shots was a "bizarre and outlandish motivation" after years of marriage.

Prosecutor David Glynn concurred that the murder could not be explained now, and most likely could not have been explained at the time.