NATION : Pastor, 81, Charged With Murder
An 81-year-old retired minister was charged today with first-degree murder and armed criminal action in the clubbing death of his ailing daughter.
The Rev. Gerald E. Maggart struck 49-year-old Beverly Maggart with a hammer Tuesday night as she lay in a bed in her apartment, authorities said. She lived within a short walk of her parents.
Maggart, the retired pastor of Country Club Congregational Church, was released on $25,000 bond.
His wife, Elizabeth Maggart, said he acted out of kindness, not malice. She said their daughter, who was a secretary, suffered from a brain tumor, seizures and bad reactions to medication, though her problems were not terminal.
“The poor girl was going through so much,” Elizabeth Maggart said. “They just loved each other to death.”
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