NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — A man who murdered his wife and set their house on fire will serve a 60-year active term in prison.
Delano Grangruth was sentenced Friday to 130 years in prison with an active term of 60 years.
Grangruth pleaded guilty in Norfolk Circuit Court in January 2020 to three felony charges: first-degree murder, arson of an occupied dwelling and arson of real personal property.
Kathleen Grangruth was found dead sitting in her living room chair at the couple’s home on Wailes Avenue in April 2018.
Delano has said Kathleen was suffering from dementia and was wheelchair bound.
During a hearing in September 2018, a detective said when he arrived on scene and first walked into the house, he saw a female body badly burned in a chair. He said the fire was contained to the corner of the living room where the woman and the chair were.
Grangruth has previously been charged with assaulting his wife on three separate occasions in the 12 years leading up to her death.
The detective also testified in 2018 that Grangruth, who waived his Miranda rights, confessed to killing his wife by dousing her with gasoline and setting her on fire with a match the previous day.
According to a detective, Grangruth said he and his wife had been fighting over finances for three days prior to her murder. The day she died, Grangruth told the detective he had his first drink in four years and killed his wife in a drunken rage.
