Not guilty: Man, 70, acquitted after killing his wife’s 32-year-old lover (PICTURED)


	Army Lt. Col Ralph Wald, 70, was acquitted of second-degree murder Thursday for the death of his wife's lover Walter Conley. 

TAMPABAY.COM

Army Lt. Col Ralph Wald, 70, was acquitted of second-degree murder Thursday for the death of his wife’s lover Walter Conley.

He may not have been able to get an erection, but that didn’t stop a 70-year-old Florida man from standing his ground.

A jury in acquitted Ralph Wald, 70, of second-degree murder charges Thursday in the shooting death of his wife’s lover, 32-year-old Walter Conley.

On the night of March 10, Wald, who suffers from erectile dysfunction, walked into his living room to find Conley on top of his wife, Johnna Lynn Flores, 41. Wald then retrieved a .38-caliber revolver from the bedroom and fatally shot Conley in the head and stomach.

Wald argued that he thought that Conley was an intruder who was raping his wife when he shot him in his living room. 

HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE

Wald argued that he thought that Conley was an intruder who was raping his wife when he shot him in his living room.

During closing arguments, the prosecution argued that the combination of Wald’s inability to have sex with his wife and finding her copulating with another man had sent him into a jealous rage.

“It’s a personal insult to conduct that kind of activity in a man’s home, his castle. It cuts to the quick. It’s brazen,” Assistant State Attorney Chris Moody said. “That kind of deep and personal insult, when you find another man having sex in your living room and you can’t, would make you want to lash out. And he did.”

Wald's wife, Johnna Lynn Flores, 41, testified she was "black out" drunk the night she was discovered having sex with Conley. 

TAMPABAY.COM

Wald’s wife, Johnna Lynn Flores, 41, testified she was “black out” drunk the night she was discovered having sex with Conley.

Wald’s lawyers invoked the state’s stand-your-ground law, and said that their client thought the man on top of his wife was an intruder who was raping her, the Tampa Bay Times reported.

Defense attorney Joe Episcopo made sure the jury was well aware of Wald’s distinguished military service in Vietnam, where he said his client was “trained what you do with the enemy … you take your gun and kill the enemy.”

Wald and Flores celebrated after learning of the acuittal. "Because my husband puts me first, he's taking me to the Waffle House," Flores said. 

TAMPABAY.COM

Wald and Flores celebrated after learning of the acuittal. “Because my husband puts me first, he’s taking me to the Waffle House,” Flores said.

It took the jury just two hours to acquit Wald of the charges.

“That same Constitution that he defended came to his aid when he needed it,” Episcopo said after the jury read its verdict. “He is the kind of American who has made this country great.”

During the trial, Flores testified that she was “black out” drunk at the time of the incident, and the jury learned that she and Wald had agreed to seek therapy for their sexual problems.

“I am elated, absolutely elated,” Flores said outside the Tampa courtroom. “Because my husband puts me first, he’s taking me to the Waffle House.”

Read more: NY Daily News

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