A woman who appeared on a Netflix true crime series for the murder of her husband has been released on parole.
Linda Couch was featured in an episode of Netflix’s I Am a Killer, which aired in January 2020.
In 1985, she received a life sentence for killing her husband, Walter Couch, at their Cincinnati, Ohio residence.
At the age of 30, Couch shot 35-year-old Walter in October 1984 and subsequently wrapped his body in a rug.
According to police reports, Couch then hid the body in the basement and involved her children, a neighbor, and her father-in-law in digging a hole in the backyard.
Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters stated she misled them by claiming the hole was for ‘drainage issues and planting grass seed’.
In a disturbing turn, Walter’s father unknowingly assisted in digging the grave for his own son.
He later uncovered his son’s body in the hole, as reported by WKRC-TV.
Couch was also accused of forging property deeds to gain ownership of their home and deceiving her family about Walter’s whereabouts.
She alleged that she had been a victim of abuse by her husband in the years prior to the incident.
In 2021, her daughter Roxanne Wagner acknowledged these allegations in an interview with WXIX-TV but expressed that she believed her mother should remain incarcerated.
Now 72, Couch has been granted parole after serving many years in prison and undergoing multiple parole hearings.
WKRC reports that the Ohio Parole Board approved her release, contingent upon her residing in a nursing home to continue her cancer treatment.
However, Hamilton County Prosecutor Connie Pillich expressed her dissatisfaction with the parole decision to WXIX-TV.
Pillich commented: “The parole board can make whatever decision it wants, but as a citizen, I’m a little disappointed.
“What she did was cold and callous. This was premeditated murder.”
She further stated: “There was no remorse. It was always about her, what was best for her. Not even her kids. Just her.”
Pillich added: “She bought the gun. She changed the deed to the house. She checked the insurance.
“She sent her children away for the night. Step by step – this was planned. It was cold.”