Suspected Wife Killer Killed Previous Wife

But Jeremiah Fogle only got 10 years' probation
By Neal Colgrass,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 19, 2011 4:05 PM CDT
Church Shooting Suspect Jeremiah Fogle Had Killed Previous Wife
Jeremiah Fogle is seen in this arrest mug released by the Polk County Sheriff's Office, Fla., Monday Sept. 19, 2011.   (AP Photo/Polk County Sheriff's Office)

The Florida man who allegedly killed his wife and shot two pastors yesterday had been on probation for killing a previous wife, the AP reports. Jeremiah Fogle, 57, was sentenced to 10 years' probation in 1987 for fatally shooting wife-of-five-months Diane Fogle at home with a rifle. Prosecutors at the time reduced the charge from first-degree murder to manslaughter and recommended probation, saying he had handled the gun in a "negligent, careless, and reckless manner."

At a hearing today, Fogle was charged with murder and attempted murder for yesterday's shooting. Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd expressed outrage that Fogle wasn't in prison and said that of Fogle's seven past wives, "he's managed to kill two of them. I wouldn't want to marry him if he gets out again." Judd also said Fogle had been a deacon at the church where yesterday's shootings occurred, but was asked to take a sabbatical "because some of the women in the church complained about the way he hugged them." (More church shootings stories.)

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