Dayton, OH: Man told police he killed girlfriend because of her nagging

DAYTON — It took 24 hours for a man to decide what to do after he shot his girlfriend to death .
James William House Jr. called the Regional Dispatch Center at 3:49 a.m. Friday from a pay phone to say that he had shot her early Thursday in his third-floor apartment at 220 Park Manor Drive.

Dispatchers kept him on the line until police arrived at the pay phone, which was on East Third Street.

He told police he had grown tired of Regina Susan Crum nagging him.

In the apartment, other officers found the body of Crum, 54, and a .38-caliber revolver.
When interviewed by detectives at police headquarters, House “claimed he was tired of her nagging. He was very forthcoming with detectives and spilled out his plan,” Dayton Lt. Mark Varvel said.

Homicide Sgt. Dan Mauch said House, 51, and Crum had been a couple for about a year.
“He made a complete confession. They had been arguing for several days, and he just got tired of it,” Mauch said. “He showed little remorse, but he owned up to what he did.
“He took 24 hours to decide what to do, then called us,” Mauch said.
House told detectives he waited for Crum to go to bed, got the revolver and shot her in the stomach.

When Crum rose up, House said he shot her several more times, Varvel said.
House, a temporary employee with a local garbage collection company, is in the Montgomery County Jail on charges of murder and weapons possession.

Mauch said House has done prison time in Georgia and has had minor scrapes with the law in Dayton, but nothing since 2003. None of his offenses involved violence.