(WHAS11) - An Indiana woman is dead and her husband is facing charges of murder and battery after he allegedly beat her in the head with a rock.
Friends of the victim, 46-year-old Brenda Roche, say she had a violent past with her husband, Joseph Roche. He did time for manslaughter in 2005 and was previously charged with battering his wife.
Neighbors told WHAS11 that they saw Brenda and Joseph Roche fighting numerous times.
Brenda Roche had recently taken a protective order out on her husband but police say that she agreed to meet him Monday night at her daughter's house on Orchard Street in Memphis, Indiana.
Investigators believe the fight between the started when Brenda Roche accused her husband of cheating. That talk turned violent when neighbors say Brenda Roche tried to leave. Witnesses say Joseph Roche attacked his wife. Neighbors say Roche kept hitting his wife in the face with a 25 pound rock while she was lying in a ditch.
Neighbors called 911 for help but it was too late. Brenda Roche was pronounced dead at the hospital. The Clark County Sheriff’s Department says they found Joseph Roche a block away from the neighborhood with blood running down his arms.
Tuesday Roche was handcuffed and didn't show any emotion while walking into a Clark County Courtroom to face a judge.
Roche is being held without bond on murder, domestic battery, battery and invasion of privacy charges. He is due back in Clark County Court Thursday afternoon.
