Back to Institute Archive" No Greater Love"
In an interview about the release of her book, A Certain Justice, author P.D. James said, "Murder strips away all defenses. Everything is open. Even the victim is left with no privacy." As I read this, my thoughts turned to Faith and Rodney Opp, a remarkable older couple I had met some months ago in Ft. Pierce, Florida. Their story is one of attempted murder which stripped away all of their defenses to reveal an extraordinary love.
The love between 87-year old Rodney and 75-year old Faith was so profound that it drove each to unimaginable extremes. Rodney tried to kill his wife, and Faith forgave him – wanting him home with her even after he had shot her in the head. Rodney Opp intended to carry out a homicide-suicide, driven by depression, desperation, and feelings of hopelessness. His health was failing, several close relatives had died, his brother and sister were chronically ill, his two daughters had serious problems and were estranged from them. When Mr. Opp developed more health problems, he saw no other option. In his despair, he picked up a gun and fired two shots at his wife's head as she lay sleeping on an early October morning in 1997. Fortunately, one bullet missed completely, and the second only grazed her head.
Mr. Opp was arrested, charged with attempted murder, and spent 107 days in jail before his sentencing date. On that day, truth, beauty and justice prevailed in the courtroom. When asked by Circuit Court Judge Ben Bryan what she wanted him to do, Mrs. Opp replied proudly, "I love my husband and want him with me in our home so I may take care of him. He must have me with him, and I am dependent on him as well."
Largely at the request of Mrs. Opp, Judge Bryan sentenced Mr. Opp to time served, 15 years of probation, and a mental health evaluation and treatment. The judge made a special request that Mr. Opp be released from jail that evening so he could return home with his wife.
In all of my years of doing research on homicide-suicide, the Opps' are the only couple I have interviewed where both survived an attempted homicide-suicide. Homicide-suicides among older couples are becoming a silent epidemic. Husbands are nearly always the perpetrators, and depression and feelings of hopelessness play a central role. The increasing numbers of well-publicized homicides involving older couples highlight the lethal consequences of overwhelming depression. And it is well documented that depression often goes unrecognized and untreated in older people.
The punishments of crimes like Mr. Opp's, born out of depression, raise complex clinical, legal, political and ethical issues. This case suggests the importance of developing guidelines for the consideration of mental health issues in the motivation and causes of these crimes.
It is our responsibility to understand more about what may be a growing number of older persons with chronic illnesses who decide to kill themselves and a loved one, often violently. Substantial efforts are needed to increase the knowledge of primary care physicians in recognizing and treating depression, as well as community interventions to combat hopelessness in older persons and their family caregivers.
Only a great love can overcome what happened to Faith and Rodney Opp. Mr. Opp could have faced fifteen years in prison, but severe criminal sanctions were not appropriate in this case. Fortunately, Judge Bryan gave thoughtful attention to the Opps and saw this.
Donna Cohen, Ph.D. is a Professor in the Department of Aging and Mental Health at the Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute at the University of South Florida, and a leading authority on homicide-suicide in the elderly.