The man, who was 93 years old, was arrested over the weekend in Florida for trying to kill his 60-year-old wife.
He told police that he was in pain and wanted to kill himself but did not want to leave her alone. He was arrested on Saturday and charged with two counts of first-degree attempted murder, according to court records that Law&Crime looked at.
A probable cause affidavit says that on October 26, 2024, deputies from the Marion County Sheriff’s Office went to a house in the 7200 block of SW 115th Place in Ocala, Florida. Ocala is about 80 miles northwest of Orlando.
When first responders got to the house, they saw the victim lying on the patio outside. Deputies saw that she was “actively bleeding” from her left elbow and had clear ligature marks around her neck. She was “visibly upset and crying.”
The victim told the police that her husband was inside, so they went in.
When the deputies came in, Lockner was on the phone at the dining room table. The affidavit says that there was a strand of rope rolled up on top of the table.
Lockner and his wife were no longer together, and the victim told police that she and Lockner had been married and living together for 60 years. She also said that it had been a “normal day” until he allegedly tried to kill her.
“Like always, the victim said the defendant was in a lot of pain,” the affidavit says. “The victim said the defendant said he wanted to die more than once, which the victim said was normal for the defendant to say.”
It is said that Lockner got up from his chair and walked away while his wife was not looking while they were watching TV in the living room.
Police wrote that the victim said she did not notice when the defendant walked behind her chair while she was watching TV.
“The victim said she felt like someone was choking her after something went around her neck.” The victim saw that the defendant was trying to choke her from behind.
The woman who was hurt told the police that Lockner was “pulling forcefully on the rope” and that she could feel the rope cutting off her blood flow.
The woman was able to get away by putting her hand between the rope and her neck. After that, she ran out to the patio and dialed 911.
Lockner is said to have said, “You can die with me,” in the background of the 911 call.
The victim also told police that her husband had tried to suffocate her with a pillow in their bed about two weeks before the crime.
The affidavit says, “The victim told the Defendant that he did not want to leave her alone.”
After the attack, the victim said she talked to her husband about it and thought he would not try to hurt her again.
In an interview after Miranda, Lockner is said to have confirmed both accounts of trying to kill his wife.
That person said he was going to die soon and did not want to leave his wife alone, the affidavit says. “The defendant said that he tried to kill her by strangling her with the rope on the table.”
Lockner is said to have said that he “planned to hang himself with the same rope after killing the victim.” He also said that the pillow-smothering attempt failed and that he then had the “crazy idea” to try to use the rope.
“In the five and a half years I have worked at the sheriff’s office, I have never seen anything like this,” Zach Moore, a spokesman for the sheriff’s office, told WCJB in Gainesville.
Lockner is being held in Marion County Jail without bond right now. He is due in court on November 26 for his arraignment.