76-Year-Old Woman Arrested For Husband's 1987 Murder After Cops Rule Out Goose Bite Story

News By TooFab Staff |
Perry County District Attorney's Office

The arrest comes after a pair of pajamas and some of the victim's hair were resubmitted for DNA analysis 35 years later

76-year-old Judith Ann Jarvis is behind bars in Pennsylvania after authorities charged her in the 35-year-old death of her husband, Carl Jarvis.

Carl's body was reportedly discovered naked, with a fatal gunshot wound to the head on August 10, 1987 -- after Judith called police about a domestic dispute. Per a criminal complaint, at the time she said her husband threw a coffee pot at her, was "breaking things" and that she was scared, but physically unharmed.

When police arrived, Judith allegedly claimed she hadn't been inside the house since calling 9-1-1 ... and, after the discovery of the body, told authorities she hadn't seen or touched it. Police noticed blood on her pajamas, but she is said to have told them it "would probably be hers from a goose bite."

Carl was 42 when he died.

At the time, a forensic pathologist "concluded that it would be essentially impossible for the victim to shoot himself in the manner in which the body was found," but no charges were ever filed.

During a press conference announcing Judith's arrest on Tuesday, Perry County DA Lauren Eichelberger announced Jarvis had been charged with murder, was arraigned and in the Cumberland County Prison without bail following an update in the investigation.

She explained that in 2020, the pajamas and some of Carl's hair were resubmitted for DNA analysis and the blood came back as a match for the victim ... not Judith.

Eichelberger added that Pennsylvania State Police also determined Judith and Carl were the only two individuals home the night of his death ... and that Carl's death could "not have been the result of a self-inflicted gunshot wound."

"Since 1987, members of the Pennsylvania State Police have worked diligently to bring resolution to the family of Carl Jarvis," Pennsylvania State Police Lt. Daryl Vankirk said during the same presser, "and we're pleased to announce the arrest today."