Thursday, April 25, 2024
Edward Michael Pautenis described how he killed his young wife and dumped her body in a field. He said he and his wife, Jennifer Pautenis, were arguing at their Nassau Bay II home between Granbury and Acton when he claims his wife attacked him. He said he grabbed a .22-caliber handgun and fired multiple shots at her in self-defense. “So I bam, bam, bam shot her. That didn’t even phase her,” he told Channel 8 News. He said he then ran into their laundry room and got a .22-caliber rifle. “And I don’t know if I shot two bullets, but it jammed up.”
He then shot his wife with another gun. “The more she kept coming at me and I just sat there and shot her. Pow pow pow.”
Their children, ages 5 and 7, were in the home at the time.
Edward said he told them he and their mother were playing a Halloween prank when they asked what happened.
He said he put them to bed, cleaned up the house and dumped his wife’s body in a field. “I pushed her off. I just wrapped her in something and pushed her out of the van.”
The 59-year-old Hood County man was jailed Wednesday on charges of murdering his 29-year-old wife. He was also charged with tampering with evidence. Her remains were found in a wooded area 15 minutes from their home, according to a family member.
Texas Rangers and the Hood County Sheriff’s Office arrested Edward in the 2100 block of Ruth Smith Drive in Granbury, where Child Protective Services is located. The children have been in state custody for several days, a family member said.
Jennifer was reported missing almost seven weeks ago on Sunday, Oct. 20. Edward said his wife left their home with another man, but Jennifer’s family members didn’t buy the story.
A sister, Daisy Thornton Newhouse, said flatly at the time, “I think my sister is dead.”
Newhouse, on her way to a prayer vigil Thursday night near her Florida home, told the Hood County News, “You know what my thoughts were from Day One. And I was right.”
Forensic lab tests for identification and processing for DNA will be made to confirm the person’s identify, according to the sheriff’s office.
Sheriff Roger Deeds told Channel 8 News, “I believe he’s a cold-blooded killer. Maybe his temper got to him that day. We won’t really know but you don’t pick up three different weapons just to make sure you get the job done.”
Edward ended the Channel 8 interview by saying he loved his wife “to death.”
