Sumter man kills wife, calls authorities next day to confess

A Sumter man in is custody after calling law enforcement to confess that he fatally shot his wife.

At 6:28 a.m. on Sunday, May 26, Freddie Samuel Falls, 61, of North Saint Pauls Church Road, called Sumter County Dispatch, saying he shot his wife on Saturday night, May 25, and asking deputies not to respond with a siren, according to Mark Bordeaux, public information officer for Sumter County Sheriff’s Office.

Deputies and EMS responded to the location, where the first deputy on scene found Falls sitting on his porch. Falls was detained by additional deputies when they arrived.

Once inside, investigators found the victim lying on the floor with a fatal gunshot wound, Bordeaux said. Sumter County Coroner Robbie Baker confirmed the victim to be 61-year-old Joan Lynn Mogensen, originally from Tennessee before moving to Sumter. Mogensen was pronounced dead at the scene, Baker said. 

Evidence was collected, including two firearms; to determine if one of the firearms was used in the shooting, investigators are examining both firearms and other evidence.

Falls confessed to deputies that he shot his wife before being arrested and charged with murder and possession of a weapon during a violent crime, according to Bordeaux. Falls was taken to Sumter County Sheriff’s Office Detention Center, where he remains after being denied bond.

According to Bordeaux, Falls does not have a criminal history and a motive has yet to be determined.