Husband attempts to murder wife - sentenced to 40 years

(Original Post 3-8-08)
A Ft. Wayne, IN man was arrested Thursday after admitting beating, kicking and burning his wife with cigarettes, leaving her comatose and in critical condition.

Jeffry Reichert, 51, of the 300 block of West DeWald Street, was booked into the Allen County Lockup on preliminary charges of aggravated battery, domestic battery and neglect of a dependent. He was being held in lieu of $20,750 bail.

According to a probable cause affidavit, police were called to Parkview Hospital on March 1 after Reichert’s wife, Barbara was brought to the hospital in a comatose state.

Hospital staff told police that she was suffering from bruises, bleeding and sores in various stages of healing, court documents said.

Police said Barbara Reichert remained unresponsive and on a ventilator in critical condition Thursday when officers interviewed her husband.

During an interview with officers, Reichert allegedly admitted to having battered his wife between Feb. 24 and March 1.

He did, according to police by slamming her head into the ground from 2 feet up, kicking her about 30 times, and not refilling medications she was taking. He also did not seek medical attention.

(Update 7-25-08) Last Friday, July 18, Reichert was sentenced to 40 years in prison for aggravated battery and neglect of a dependant in the near fatal beating of Barbara Reichert, who is living in a nursing home as the result of her husband's injuries. A misdemeanor charge of domestic battery and a habitual offender (Reichert was convicted of lewd and lascivious behavior with a child in California) was dropped when Richard Reichart pleaded guilty last June 19. However Judge Fran Gill, who presided over the case, said that she has seen her share of misery, including the case of Michelle VanMeter, sentenced to 30 years for molesting three teens, and that the beating ranks among the worst.

“I’ve seen my share of misery, … the destruction that occurs when people harm each other,” she told Reichert. “You tortured your wife. … Not one square inch of your wife’s body is not covered with bruises, deep bruises, cuts, abrasions. … It’s astonishing she’s still alive.”

When Reichert said that he was sorry for what happened and that he cried himself to sleep, Judge Gull said that "Candidly, Mr. Reichert, I’m not sure you’re sorry for what you did but are sorry you got caught."

But the nature of Reichert’s crimes and his criminal history provided enough aggravating circumstances, with Gull sentencing him to 20 years on each count and ordering the sentences to be served one after another. She also ordered him to pay $14,125 in restitution.

“The impact of your conduct far exceeds that which is associated with your crimes,” Gull told Reichert.

Reichert, a convicted sex offender, and his wife moved from California to live with Wendy Nattinger, also a convicted sex offender, and her girlfriend – a pair the Reicherts met in an online canasta league.

Nattinger, 38, is also charged with the abuse of Barbara Reichert. She is set to stand trial on charges of aggravated battery and neglect of a dependent this year. The other woman has not been charged and declined to comment after the hearing on what went on inside her home.

The motive - according to Deputy Prosecutor Michael McAlexander - failing to clean their room or the cat litter box. It didn't hurt that Barbara's father left her an inheritance and that she was collecting social security. According to the victim's family, she is breathing through a tracheotomy and it is unknown if she will recover.

(Update 1-2-09) Nattinger was sentenced to 15 years in prison and $19,465 in restitution on December 22, 2008 for the beating and near-killing of Barbara. Judge Fran Gull stated that "the fact that (Reichert) is alive is astonishing...Not one square inch of that woman’s body is not battered, bruised. You say you have a problem with anger. That’s a tremendous understatement.”

Nattinger apologized, stating that “If I could apologize to the family, I would. If I could take it all back, I would."

Judge Gull stated that the state's argument that the nature of the crime itself should count against Nattinger for sentencing was valid, ordering her to serve the battery sentence after two child molestation convictions.