John Jefferson
Main: Judith Ann Jarvis. Inset: Carl R. Jarvis (Pennsylvania State Police).
A 78-year-old woman in Pennsylvania accused of killing her husband more than 30 years ago will not be tried for the fatal shooting after it was determined that she was not competent to stand trial and that her competency could not be restored. Perry County Judge Kenneth Mummah on Thursday dismissed the case against Judith Ann Jarvis, who in 2022 was charged with one count of murder in the slaying of then-42-year-old Carl Jarvis, records reviewed by Law&Crime show.
When police first questioned Judith Jarvis about her husband’s murder in 1987, she told investigators she had no idea what happened to him and explained that the visible blood found on her pajamas was the result of a recent “goose bite.” DNA tests unavailable at the time later confirmed the blood was from her husband.
The case, which went unsolved for 35 years before Judith Jarvis’ arrest, was being prosecuted by the Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General. The AG’s office does not plan to appeal Mummah’s ruling, according to a report from The Patriot-News.
Judith Jarvis has been held in jail without bond since her arrest in December 2022.
As Law&Crime previously reported, Judith Jarvis called 911 at approximately midnight on Aug. 10, 1987, to report a domestic dispute between her and her husband at their home on Cherry Valley Road. She allegedly told the emergency dispatcher that her husband was breaking things in the house and had thrown a coffee pot at her. Judith Jarvis said she was scared, but that her husband had not physically harmed her.
Upon arriving at the scene, first responders with the state police made contact with Judith Jarvis, who was waiting for them on the front lawn of the home. She allegedly said that she had been outside since calling 911 and was not sure where her husband was or what he was doing.
Troopers knocked on the door but were unable to get a response from Carl Jarvis. When they entered the home, they found him naked on the floor in a bedroom with what appeared to be a gunshot wound to the back of the head. He was pronounced dead on the scene.
Investigators said a .22 caliber revolver with a six-inch barrel was found atop the bed. Authorities said that an autopsy determined that Carl Jarvis’ manner of death was a homicide with the cause of death being a close-contact gunshot wound to the head from the .22 handgun found at the scene.
Police further determined the alleged victim’s death “could not have been the result of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.”
Speaking to troopers, Judith Jarvis allegedly claimed that she had not seen or touched her husband’s body. When questioned about the blood on her pajamas, she allegedly said it “would probably be hers from a goose bite.” A hand towel was also recovered with what appeared to be bloodstains. Judith Jarvis’ pajamas and the towel were confiscated and placed into evidence, but no arrests were made in the case at the time.
Investigators with the state police in October 2020 returned to the case file and sent Judith Jarvis’ pajamas to a crime laboratory and had the bloodstain compared to a sample of Carl Jarvis’ hair. The blood on the pajamas was identified as a match for Carl Jarvis.
“This new technology led to our ability to bring charges in this 35-year-old case,” Eichelberger said. “It gives me courage we will continue to find answers in cases like this, particularly with the use of more advanced technology.”
Patriot-News reported that Judith Jarvis is scheduled to be released from SCI Muncy on Dec. 2, and transferred to a personal care facility geared toward patients suffering from memory loss.
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