VIENNA - The suspect in the shooting death Friday of Carol Ralsten told police he shot his wife during a struggle for the gun, according to the criminal complaint.
Dr. John Ralsten, 74, of Vienna remained hospitalized at a secure facility Monday. He will be charged at a later date with first-degree murder for fatally shooting his wife, Carol Ralsten, 70, on Friday, police said.
Officials have not revealed additional information on the incident, but details of the shooting emerged Monday in a criminal complaint filed in Wood County Magistrate Court.
According to the complaint, Vienna police met with John Ralsten, the suspect's son, and Bob Parrish on Friday around 4:45 p.m. following a telephone conversation between the father and son.
John Ralsten told police his father said he shot his wife while scuffling over a gun, according to the criminal complaint.
Vienna Police Chief George Young contacted the suspect over the phone. During the conversation, Dr. John Ralsten allegedly admitted he shot his wife when the gun was discharged during a struggle. He refused to exit his house at 4608 Fourth Ave., the criminal complaint states.
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After six hours of negotiations, the suspect surrendered to police. During a search of the residence, members of the Wood County Sheriff's Office's SWAT team located a trail of blood from the first floor of the residence leading to a storage area in the basement, according to the criminal complaint.
The body of Carol Ralsten was found in the storage area, "lying slumped over, face-down with an apparent gunshot wound to the lower left side." A severe head wound also was noted by police, the complaint states.
According to the complaint, upon further search of the house, a .38-caliber handgun was found in an upstairs bathroom. A hatchet and two slugs with traces of blood on them also were recovered from the upstairs bathroom of the Ralsten home.
Spent shell casings were located in a clothes basket in the basement laundry room, adjacent to the location of the victim.
The cause of death and time of death were not released Monday.
Randy Lowe, director of the Wood County 911 Center, said the initial 911 call came in at 4:40 p.m. and lasted just over eight minutes. Lowe would not disclose who made the 911 call or whether it came from inside or outside the house.
Police have not revealed a motive for the alleged murder.
Wood County Prosecutor Jason Wharton said there would be no further information on the case released at this point.
"I've been in contact with Vienna police throughout the day and the investigation is continuing," he said Monday.
Wharton said a copy of the 911 call would not be released.
Wood County Sheriff Jeff Sandy related his department's actions with regard to Friday night's shooting incident after being asked for a report Monday by the Wood County commissioners.
Sandy said he had been in a meeting and had only became aware of the shooting after he was contacted by the media.
"I contacted Chief Young in Vienna, and offered our assistance, he accepted. I have two trained negotiators, they went to the Command Center and offered their assistance. Eventually it came to a point in time when the Wood County Sheriff's Department SWAT team was called out and we took positions around the perimeter of the residence in case something would have happened," the sheriff said.
"I went from house to house and removed people in the neighborhood. Our SWAT team removed some of the neighbors who wanted out, some people elected to stay in their basements, but we secured their houses with our SWAT team. We offered assistance to Vienna, which was the lead agency. Our SWAT team did in fact make entry into the residence after the individual was secured," Sandy said.
Writer Pamela Brust contributed to this story.
