He Shot His Wife's Lover, Thinking She Was Being Raped; Killed Wife Years Later
Wald was charged in his wife's murder but passed away before his trial
In 2013, 71-year-old Ralph Wald shot and killed a man he thought was raping his wife. It turned out she was having an affair with the man. The courts acquitted Wald of murder, citing that he acted in self-defense.
Wald Shot Walter Conley
Wald woke from a nap at his home, hearing strange noises. He walked downstairs and found his 41-year-old wife, Johnna Lynn Flores, having sex with her lover on the sofa. He grabbed his .38 out of the gun cabinet and confronted the man, 32-year-old Walter Conley.
Conley hid behind Flores, although Wald pushed her out of the way, aimed his gun at Conley’s lower body, and fired. He later told police he had hoped to shoot the man in his “heart or lungs” and had wanted to “inflict pain on him.” Wald fired a second round, this time pointing the rifle at Conley’s nose and ear. He fired a third shot at his head.
Wald dialed 911 and told the operator, “Some guy was fornicating with my wife. I went back and got my gun and shot him.”
Flores never admitted to her husband that he had just killed her lover, the man she had been having an affair with. He instead learned this information from the police as he listened to the tape of her interrogation.
She claimed she failed to admit this information because she is bipolar and a “blackout drinker.”
Lynn stated,
“I am bipolar and have alcohol dependencies. I really can’t make proper decisions during the time I’m drinking and not on my meds.”
She went on to say that she wanted to end her relationship with Conley, but something held her back.
Wald, a Vietnam vet, told police that he had killed over 150 enemy soldiers during his time in the war. He said that he and his wife never had sex. She told him that she had been abused as a child and was uncomfortable having sex; she hated it. When he saw a man on top of her, he assumed that she was in danger and that he was protecting her.
He went on to say that he felt terrible about murdering the man but stated,
“The man should not have been in my house at midnight having sex with my wife… I don’t care what you say about that. He should not have been there.”
Wald Shot Flores
The couple remained together, although the marriage was filled with plenty of turmoil over the next six years. Getting over adultery is not easy.
In 2019, six years after Wald killed Conley in a case the court described as an act of self-defense, he was accused of taking his wife’s life.
Police charged 77-year-old Wald with manslaughter on September 16, 2019, after a frantic call to 9–1–1 reported that he found his wife dead on their couch. Police found his wife, Johnna Flores, 48, slumped over on the couch with a bullet wound in her chest. Blood pooled around her feet and ankles.
Two vodka bottles, one empty and the second a quarter full, were on the floor near the couch. The home was cluttered.
Flores, the second person killed in the Brandon home, had been shot with the same .38 caliber revolver used to shoot her former lover. Police immediately suspected Wald had shot his wife. He was taken into custody but later released on bond.
Wald Passed Away
The trial was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic and Wald’s worsening health. In October 2022, a wheelchair-bound Wald appeared before a judge with his attorney. The attorney explained that Wald’s health was failing and that he was incompetent to stand trial. The judge ordered competency testing for Wald.
Ralph Wald passed away in January 2023, less than two months after that hearing.
Sources:
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/ralph-lewis-wald-70-shoots-man-fornicating-wife_n_2859365
https://www.tampabay.com/news/courts/criminal/life-goes-on-for-brandon-man-acquitted-of-killing-wifes-lover/2124317/
https://www.fox13news.com/news/man-acquitted-of-killing-wifes-lover-arrested-on-new-charges-related-to-wifes-death-passes-away
https://www.bozaroel.com/obituaries/Johnna-Flores/#!/TributeWall
https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/brandon-fl/ralph-wald-11147829
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