Wife Found Dead in Tractor Bucket, husband charged
Desi
WALKERTON — While the bloodied body of his 33-year-old wife
lay in a nearby tractor bucket, Randy Grubb, 37, who has
been charged with first-degree murder in her death, spent
his time barn-raising with his neighbours.
"We worked all day, we were all working hard, but laughing
and joking. We kept asking where Karen was, but we didn't
get any answers," Bruce Gutscher said yesterday.
Gutscher lives on a farm neighbouring Grubb's 40-hectare
dairy operation on a remote rural road about 10 kilometres
southwest of Walkerton.
Gutscher and his 15-year-old son were among a handful of
neighbours helping Randy Grubb put the roof on his new barn
on Wednesday. The Grubb children — Ashley, 9, Bradley, 7,
and Aiden, 4 — played happily in the yard as the men worked.
They were taking a break around 3:30 p.m. when Grubb's
brother Mark, who lives on a neighbouring farm, came over to
borrow the tractor. "He went into the driving shed and then
came running out saying there had been a bad accident," said
Gutscher.
The men, including Randy Grubb, rushed to the driving shed
where the tractor was stored and found Karen Grubb lying
face down in the tractor bucket. It was Gutscher who reached
out to touch the body. "It was just to see if she was still
alive, but she was cold and stiff and her head was all
bloodied, I think she had been there for some time," said
Gutscher.
Randy Grubb stared at the body of his wife. "He said
nothing, nothing at all," Gutscher said.
News late Thursday that police had charged Randy with murder
shocked this tight-knit community. "I never heard him even
raise his voice to Karen — it's unbelievable, they seemed so
happy," Gutscher said.
When Randy Grubb married Karen about 10 years ago, he
brought her to live at the Grubb family farm, which he is
running as a dairy operation.
Karen, from Durham, a town about 35 kilometres east of
Walkerton, appeared to take to life on the farm. She happily
fed the calves and looked after the bookkeeping and was a
loving mother to her children, Gutscher said.
"She was the smart one, she liked going on the Internet,"
said Gutscher.
Randy Grubb had been depressed since Gutscher pulled him out
of his burning barn in November, 2000, said Gutscher. "He
was trapped inside, but I got him out and he didn't lose any
livestock, but he lost a lot of feed," said Gutscher, saying
the financial hit from losing the building, equipment and
feed was estimated at $250,000.
The insurance didn't cover the total cost of rebuilding, so
neighbours, as many as 25 on some occasions, got together to
lend their time and labour. "In the end Randy and Karen
didn't have to pay a penny out of their own pockets," said
Gutscher.
Karen Grubb's sister arrived on Wednesday evening to take
the children home with her. She told the neighbours that
when she last talked to her sister on Tuesday around 7 p.m.,
she seemed fine.
Gutscher said he was surprised when other neighbours told
the local newspaper they heard a shot Wednesday afternoon.
"I was right there, but I didn't hear anything," said
Gutscher.
The cause of death won't be known until an autopsy at London
Health Sciences Centre is completed.
Randy Grubb is being held in custody and is scheduled to
appear in court in Walkerton on Monday.
sarah
> WALKERTON — While the bloodied body of his 33-year-old wife
> lay in a nearby tractor bucket, Randy Grubb, 37, who has
> been charged with first-degree murder in her death, spent
> his time barn-raising with his neighbours.
Gee, it'd be nice if you'd put a link in your posts so we can at least
figure out what _country_ it's from (London -- kilometres -- $ in
money ref??? rather than pounds?)...
Happя
sarah wrote in message ...
That would be Walkerton, Ontario in Canada.
If it was in England they would be talking pounds for money.
If it was USA they would be talking miles instead of kilometers.
Lot's of Canadians here and Americans who would understand.
Happy < to help :)
