U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu is speaking out about her first cousin who police say murdered his wife and killed himself. She says Stephen Landrieu killed his wife Brenda Burke out of compassion.
"My cousin did shoot his wife. And although it's been described as murder, and technically is, it was a mercy killing. She had been suffering a great deal physically for years and years. They were very close. It was not a situation of violence, domestic violence in the traditional sense," Landrieu told WWL Radio.
Listen to Landrieu:
She says not only was 50-year-old Brenda Burke in a lot of pain for chronic health problems, but the couple had issues with their health insurance and had "lost a great deal." Landrieu says they "just couldn't take it anymore."
"I know that people have very strong feelings. Look, I'm not excusing it. I'm not even saying it's right. There are very strict laws about this and technically it's a crime to do that," said Sen. Landrieu.
Sen. Landrieu's spokeswoman says the couple had been displaced from New Orleans after Katrina.
Police say 52-year-old Stephen Landrieu called his mother, Orleans School Board Member Phyllis Landrieu, to tell her he had killed his wife.
She called cops in Independence. Investigators say when they got to the apartment and office where the couple lived, Landrieu barricaded himself inside and killed himself.
Police say the couple had no children.
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