Delco man, 88, stabbed his wife - then waited for police

Mary Agnes and Ernest Rayfield were known as a loving couple in their leafy Springfield Township, Delaware County, neighborhood.

For years, Ernie, 88, had tenderly cared for Mary, 87, who was suffering from dementia. But in recent weeks, neighbors said, her mood had turned violent and she was seen hitting her husband of more than 50 years.

On Sunday the Navy veteran stabbed his wife with a kitchen knife, then knelt by her side waiting for police to arrive.

He "had had enough," he told his daughter - the first person he called, according to court documents.

Ernest Rayfield has been charged with murder, aggravated assault, voluntary manslaughter, involuntary manslaughter, and related crimes. He is being held in the hospital unit of the Delaware County prison without bail.

"It is a real tragedy," said Joseph Daly, Springfield Township's chief of police. He said that Ernest Rayfield's actions were completely out of character and that his "mental health is being explored as well."

According to Kathleen Mullineaux, 75, a longtime neighbor and friend, the couple met after World War II - she was a former Marine; he was in the Navy. She called him Ernie; he called her "Hon." He went to work for Scott Paper; she was the stay-at-home mom, neighbors said.

They raised four children in a cute brick Cape Cod house on quiet Madison Road and never moved. Mary would tend the tomato garden; Ernie would cut the grass. Mary would often brag to neighbors about her husband - about the new windows he installed in the house and how he helped with the kids after a long day at work.

They were all about family and cared for Mary's elderly aunt at their home until she died. They attended church, played bridge, loved to dance together, vacationed to Virginia with the neighbors, and laughed, according to friends.

The Rayfields doted on their large brood of grandchildren and great-grandchildren, neighbors said.

About 15 years ago, neighbors began to notice the first signs of Mary's dementia. But in recent weeks, they noticed that it had taken a sudden and dramatic turn for the worse. Family members had begun to make daily visits to the home.

On Friday, her 87th birthday, family members gathered at the home, police said, where they talked about how and where she should be cared for.

That morning, Mullineaux stopped by the house and saw that Ernie's hand was swollen. Mary had locked Ernie out of the house after he hid the car keys to keep her from driving, he explained. And she had beaten him, he said.

"He didn't show his family the bruises. They didn't know it was as bad as it was," Mullineaux said Tuesday as she sat on her porch. "He was overwhelmed," she said, but thought it was his duty to continue to care for his wife. He didn't know how to deal with what was now happening.

"She loved him so much," Mullineaux said, adding that the dementia had robbed Mary of her right mind. Mary, she said, never argued with her husband until dementia had taken hold.

"He would never have in a million years done that if he was thinking properly," Mullineaux said. When she first heard there was a stabbing, she thought Mary had hurt her husband.

Rayfield waived his rights and told police when he woke up that morning he asked Mary if she wanted breakfast. She said she wanted him out of the house. According to court documents, he said he went to the kitchen and retrieved a knife from the drawer. He returned to the bedroom and "things had calmed down." A few minutes later, Mary became agitated and told him again to get out. He then stabbed her several times in the chest.

Rayfield said he covered his wife with a blanket and called his daughter.

"As much as you can understand," Daly said, "it is still homicide."