HONESDALE -- The man police believe is responsible for shooting his wife to death is locked up in Wayne County. It's a murder case that began more than two years ago, but the man charged tells Newswatch 16 he didn't do it.
Robert Jufer, 71, is accused of shooting his wife to death in October 2010 at their home in Cherry Ridge Township.
Police arrested Jufer in New York state Wednesday where had been living.
After a hearing in New York Thursday morning, Jufer was brought back to Wayne County to face a charge of criminal homicide.
Walking slowly into the Wayne County courthouse in Honesdale, Jufer answered questions from reporters surrounding him.
“Did you shoot your wife?”
“No, I did not.”
State police believe Jufer shot his wife in the head in October 2010 as she was sleeping in their home near Honesdale. Jufer told investigators he had just returned home and was attacked by intruders who choked him with a rope until he blacked out, a story that Jufer stands by.
“Who do you think shot your wife?”
“I have suspicions but I'm not going to say anything.”
Jufer's day began at the Westchester County courthouse, north of New York City. Jufer has a home in that area. That's where police arrested him. He chose not to fight efforts to bring him back to Wayne County.
The Wayne County district attorney said the case has been high priority for the 12 months she's been in office. She says it took more than two years to investigate because there was a lot of evidence to go through.
“The Pennsylvania State Police, for those 12 months, did everything I asked of them, in gathering evidence, helping me to review the interviews, look at what was done already, see what needed to be done,” said D.A. Janine Edwards.
As Jufer left the courthouse and was taken to jail, he kept to his story that someone else killed his wife.
“Why do you think your wife was shot?”
“No idea, I think they just surprised.”
The district attorney said they don't have a motive for the murder of June Jufer but the evidence points to Robert Jufer as her killer.
"She was asleep when she was killed, or was in bed. Found dead. It's clear that she was helpless if she's found dead in her bed,” said Edwards.
When state police searched Jufer's home soon after the murder, they found 108 rifles, shotguns and handguns.
The D.A. calls Jufer a survivalist but he doesn't agree.
“Why did you have 108 rifles?”
“I was a collector.”
“Of rifles?”
“Yeah.”
“Not a survivalist?”
“No."
He is locked up in the Wayne County Prison.