#NJ man charged with fatally stabbing wife with ‘butcher’ knife

An elderly New Jersey man has been charged with hacking his wife to death with a “butcher style” kitchen knife, authorities said.

Dieter R. Zimmermann, 73, was arrested Tuesday on charges of first-degree murder and weapons counts after his 69-year-old wife, Jaquelin Zimmermann, was discovered dead on a bathroom floor, the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office said.

Mahwah cops were responding to a domestic violence 911 call, an affidavit of probable cause obtained by The Post shows.

“Upon opening the door, Mr. Zimmermann stated ‘Oh good, I was just on the phone with you, my wife attacked me,’” the document shows.

An officer spotted scratch marks on Zimmermann’s neck, as well as cut on his finger that was bleeding before the man said his wife was “upstairs,” prosecutors said.

Jaquelin Zimmermann was then found face down on the floor of a bathroom next to the home’s master bedroom in a pool of blood. She was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.

Investigators spotted what appeared to be defensive wounds on the woman’s hands, as well as a “butcher style” kitchen knife with a black handle atop a nearby vanity, according to the affidavit, portions of which were redacted.

“At no point did Jaquelin have possession of a knife,” investigators wrote.

Dieter Zimmerman later told police that he wished he no longer wanted to live during an interview, authorities said.

An unidentified third-party who also called police told investigators she got a phone call from Jaquelin just before she was killed, according to the affidavit.

“During the phone call, Jaquelin stated that her husband (Dieter) was trying to kill her,” the document states. “The call ended abruptly and the 911 caller then contacted police.”

A spokeswoman for Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said Zimmerman is scheduled to make his initial court appearance Wednesday afternoon in Hackensack.

Zimmerman had not retained an attorney as of early Wednesday, spokeswoman Elizabeth Rebein said.

Zimmerman, who was also charged with possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and unlawful possession of a weapon, remained held without bond Wednesday at the Bergen County Jail, online records show.

Zimmermann was born in Germany, but is a United States citizen, the records indicate.