Elderly NJ Murder Defendant Deemed Not Competent

A judge has ruled that an elderly woman accused of fatally shooting her husband inside their southern New Jersey home last summer is not mentally competent to stand trial on murder charges.

State Superior Court Judge Terrence Cook issued the ruling Monday, citing a psychiatric evaluation of 77-year-old Fredricka Rosa. Her competency will be reconsidered at a July hearing, and the murder charge could be dropped at that time if her mental condition does not improve.

Family members say the Pemberton Township resident suffers from Alzheimer's disease.

Rosa is charged in the death of her 79-year-old husband, Valpa Rosa Sr., whose body was found July 21 after police were called to the home by one of the couple's children.

The couple had been married for 54 years.

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