Authorities in Connecticut say a man surrendered this week in connection to pending manslaughter charges related to allegedly assisting in his wife’s suicide.

According to the Hartford Courant, 65-year-old Kevin Conners and his 63-year-old wife, Lori, had been married for 42 years at the time of the fatal shooting. Lori had reportedly been battling ovarian cancer, which was made more unbearable because of complications from her underlying Lyme disease.

While she reportedly penned more than a dozen letters expressing her desire to kill herself as well as her love for her husband, the retired Department of Correction lieutenant was arrested on Thursday for allegedly helping his wife steady the gun as she pulled the trigger. Her illnesses had reportedly robbed her of the power to aim the weapon and fire on her own strength, as reported by USA Today.

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Reports allege she had failed at a previous suicide attempt while alone and asked her husband to help out of fear that she would similarly be unable to carry out the attempt on the day she died.

They had allegedly planned to convince police that Lori had killed unilaterally killed herself, but Kevin soon confessed, according to police reports.

Some advocates for legalized assisted suicide are hoping this case will raise awareness and lead to a repeal of existing state laws. As it stands, though, Kevin Conners was booked into jail on Thursday before he was released on $50,000 bond and scheduled to appear in court the following day.

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[Featured image: Kevin Conners and Lori Conners, Facebook]