Man arrested at retirement home for wife's murder decades earlier

Crime Man arrested at retirement home for wife's murder decades earlier By Kerry Breen Kerry Breen News Editor Kerry Breen is a news editor at CBSNews.com. A graduate of New York University's Arthur L. Carter School of Journalism, she previously worked at NBC News' TODAY Digital. She covers current events, breaking news and issues including substance use. Read Full Bio Kerry Breen April 4, 2026 / 8:43 AM EDT / CBS News Add CBS News on Google A 68-year-old man was arrested at a Washington nursing home after being charged with first-degree murder in the 1992 death of his wife. Janice Randle was found dead in her bed in November 1992, the Pierce County Sheriff's Office said on social media, with her toddler daughter Katie in a crib nearby. Her estranged husband, James Robert Randle, told police that she had likely overdosed and said she had a history of using painkillers. The couple was going through a divorce and living separately, the sheriff's office said. Initially, police investigated the death as a possible overdose. When later autopsy results showed no drugs in her system at the time of death, the case became a homicide investigation, but "only breadcrumbs of information could be pieced together, with nothing substantial to establish probable cause for an arrest," the sheriff's office said. The case remained unsolved until family members came forward with new information, including "witnessed confessions" from Randle, the sheriff's office said. CBS affiliate KIRO reported that Randle had confessed to killing his wife in conversations with his siblings and one of his children.  Janice Randle. Everett County Sheriff's Office "He actually talked to his brother about how he staged the crime scene," a deputy prosecutor said in court, according to KIRO. "He also confessed to this murder to one of his daughters later on as well. He told her that he had had to put a pillow over his wife Janice's head and said, with regards to the murder, quote, 'Just...