HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — Authorities say that a Brandon man who used a gun to kill his wife's lover nearly seven years ago used the same firearm to allegedly kill her back in September.
- RELATED stories:
On Friday, Ralph Wald was charged with manslaughter with a firearm, stated the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office in a news release.
#BREAKING Ralph Wald is now charged with manslaughter. HCSO says he shot & killed a woman at his home on Clara Drive on September 16, 2019. Days later I confirmed with the Medical Examiner’s Office that the victim was Johnna Flores who was his wife @BN9 pic.twitter.com/7C2LHDUd5K
— Jorja Roman (@JorjaRoman) January 18, 2020
The 77-year-old Wald called 911 on September 16, 2019, to say that something was wrong with his wife and that he was not sure if she was breathing.
When authorities arrived, they noticed that she had a gunshot wound in her chest, stated the Sheriff's Office.
Once deputies obtained a search warrant for the home on Clara Drive, they found a .38 caliber revolver in a gunbox in the nightstand in Wald's bedroom, deputies stated, adding that it had been fired once.
The medical examiner confirmed with Spectrum Bay News 9 in October of 2019 that it was Wald's wife, 48-year-old Johnna Flores, who was found shot and killed the month before.
It was the gun used by Wald back in March of 2013, according to deputies. He was charged with second-degree murder after he confessed to shooting a man who was in the act of having sex with his wife, stated authorities.
Wald said he thought Walter Conley, 31, was raping Flores and he killed her. Flores was having an affair with Conley, who was a neighbor.
At the time, Wald said he knew nothing about the relationship and he trusted Flores implicitly before the shooting happened.
Wald was found not guilty by a jury.
"I feel great, really great. I think the system worked the way it should," Wald said at the time to Bay News 9.
In December of 2019, Wald's case was given to the State Attorney's Office and it was on Friday that Wald was charged with manslaughter with a firearm.
Authorities have not released additional information regarding the death of Flores.