FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Witnesses told police that a Pompano Beach man, who is accused of killing his wife, had been abusing drugs and sent text messages from her phone for days in an effort to hide her death, according to newly released reports.
Patrick Palmer is accused of shooting his wife of 14 years twice in the head. Deputies found Sherry Palmer's body on April 18 in her backyard after friends hadn't heard from her in days.
According to the report, a witness said that while walking her dog, she saw Patrick Palmer outside his home on the night of April 14, holding a brown paper bag and acting confused, the report said. He dropped the bag on the front porch and went inside the house without acknowledging her, the report said. The witness suspected that Patrick Palmer had been using drugs, deputies said.
That witness told deputies that Patrick Palmer had abused drugs in the past and that Sherry Palmer had told the witness that if her husband returned to abusing drugs, she would leave him.
Another witness told police that she last spoke with Sherry Palmer over the phone around 3 p.m. April 13, the report said. The witness said Sherry Palmer seemed upset and called back about 30 minutes later to apologize for being angry, but she did not explain why she was upset, the report said.
Deputies said that a witness tried to contact Sherry Palmer that weekend via text message but did not get an immediate response. Deputies said that just before midnight April 17, someone using Sherry Palmer's phone responded with the message, "Thank you." Other witnesses also reported receiving text messages from Sherry Palmer's phone, despite not being able to reach her via phone calls.
Sherry Palmer owned the Chit Chat's bar in Pompano Beach, where her husband also worked.
After the couple hadn't shown up for a few days, their employees got worried and called the Broward Sheriff's Office.
Police believe Patrick Palmer sent the messages because several employees at the bar were asking him questions about Sherry Palmer's whereabouts. One message sent from Sherry Palmer's phone read: "Sorry. Out of it. Hibernating."
The report said Patrick Palmer continued to try to mislead Sherry Palmer's friends as several days passed without word from her. On April 16, deputies said, Patrick Palmer pretended to be his wife, writing her friend in a text message: "Exhausted. Pat got me home. I'm on medication tonight. Just had a major breakdown."
Meanwhile Wednesday, Patrick Palmer appeared in court, where he was ordered held without bond.
"She was my everything. She was my everything and she's gone," said Mary "Mickey" McCarthy, Sherry Palmer's sister.
McCarthy, along with a few other family members, showed up Wednesday to hear what a judge would decide after the family tragedy.
Patrick Palmer's daughter was also at the courthouse to lend her support to her father, but did not want to appear at the podium.
"The outpouring of love is appreciated so much, and I am hurting for her friends and her Chit Chat family, who loved her so much," McCarthy said. "I know they're hurting and I want them to know my heart's with them."
According to an arrest report, detectives went inside the couple's home April 18 and found Patrick Palmer in a bedroom bleeding from his arms.
He was unconscious, but alive.
Detectives said his wife's body was found wrapped in tarps in the backyard. Detectives said a pickax and shovel were also found near what appeared to be a shallow grave.
"All of us are going to do what we can to honor Sherry. That's the most important thing right now," McCarthy said.
Relatives said Sherry Palmer's funeral will be private.
