A South Carolina jury, after 40 minutes of deliberation, sentenced a man to life in prison last week for stabbing his wife 14 times with a butcher knife because she would not shut up.
Anthony Argoe, 60, of Summerville, South Carolina was sentenced for killing his wife, Lynda Shuler Argoe, 55, on June 15, 2019.
On the night of the murder, the victim’s daughter called police and requested they conduct a welfare check on her mother, who lived with Anthony on Trolley Road.
When officers arrived, they saw Lynda’s motionless body propped up against the couch, according to a press release from First Judicial Circuit Solicitor David Pascoe.
The officers forced their way into the home and discovered the victim was dead and had a 19-inch butcher knife sticking out of the right side of her neck.
Anthony Argoe was taken to an area hospital where a test showed his blood alcohol level was elevated. Evidence was presented during the trial that showed the blood splattered on Argoe’s jean shorts and blood on his flip-flops.
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Pascoe said in his release that several witnesses testified during the trial that Argoe’s life was spiraling in the weeks leading up to the murder. He reportedly stopped going to work before ultimately quitting his job, spent days at home drinking and visited a local convenience store to purchase lottery tickets.
The release also said the victim sent text messages to Argo, expressing concern that he was buying alcohol but not covering his rent, leading to their eviction.
Lynda planned to leave Anthony on the day of the murder, and her vehicle was packed with her belongings outside the apartment in which she was killed.
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Also, during the trial, the daughter testified that her mother was a victim of domestic abuse for years leading up to her murder. Years after Argoe’s arrest, he told a witness who testified at the trial that he was sick of his wife nagging him and "she would never shut up, so he shut her up for good."
"This was an unbelievably brutal and heinous crime. While the whole courtroom was teary-eyed watching Lynda’s daughter testify, Argoe showed zero remorse or sorrow," prosecutor David Osborne said.
