A 93-year-old California man has been charged with murder after turning himself in to police and allegedly admitting that he killed his 86-year-old wife.
Richard Hocking of Fremont, Calif., allegedly told dispatchers that he shot and killed his wife, Patricia, in the early hours of January 3. Officers responded to a strip mall parking lot, where they found Patricia in the passenger seat of the couple’s vehicle. She was pronounced dead at the scene, and officers also recovered the firearm.
Fremont police officially placed Hocking into custody on homicide charges and a gun-related enhancement, charges that reportedly carry a sentence of 50 years to life if convicted. According to KGO, the local ABC affiliate, Hocking’s arraignment has been postponed until next week. He is being held at the Santa Rita Jail without bail.
According to court documents, Hocking said he had been planning to kill his wife for “about a month” because he felt her death was “necessary.” Hocking’s daughter, Leonore, told the Mercury News that she believed her father “broke” and was “just super overwhelmed” by the potential pressure he may have felt keeping both he and his wife healthy.
UPDATE: Richard Hocking, 93, told police he’d been planning to kill his 86yo wife Patricia for about a month & left home w/her “knowing that he was going to kill her” w/shot to head in Ford Transit van, per @FremontPD @AlamedaCountyDA, charging him w/murder pic.twitter.com/AHdsHbMO9w
— Henry K. Lee (@henrykleeKTVU) January 7, 2026
Leonore said that Hocking moves around with a walker and suffers from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Patricia had diabetes and previously sustained a broken kneecap.
“I cried so much yesterday,” Leonore said. “I did all my grieving yesterday. I think he’s wishing he could die. He doesn’t want to be there either. I can’t protect him. He’s done his deal. Whatever is going to happen is going to happen.”
As of publication, authorities had not indicated whether Hocking’s age or medical condition would affect his custody status. Leonore said she hopes he’ll be moved to a different facility rather than stay in the county jail.
“He’s not going to go out and hurt anybody else,” Leonore said. “And he didn’t mean to hurt Patty either. He didn’t mean to take her life. I don’t think he should die in a facility like that. He deserves better. He didn’t do this because he was being mean. He’s not a mean man.”
A 93-year-old Fremont man, Richard Hocking is charged with murder in the fatal shooting of his 86-year-old wife Patty, whom he had been married to for 60 years. Police say Richard drove his wife to a parking lot near their home, shot her in the head and called 911, where he… pic.twitter.com/z3GHK5XyKR
— ABC7 News (@abc7newsbayarea) January 8, 2026
Hocking and his wife, who was Leonore’s stepmother, had been married since May 1967. He is a retired commercial truck driver, and she had been a preschool teacher.
One neighbor told KGO that the incident was “very shocking” and “very heartbreaking.”
“I don’t believe it,” the neighbor said. “It’s very, very hard for me to believe.”
The neighbor added, “They were a very lovely couple made for each other. Richard being a very inspiring gentleman, and Pat being a very good friend.”
