Tennessee man killed his wife with a hammer and told his children she was terminally ill

A Tennessee man who killed his wife with a hammer and told his children she was terminally ill and had left home has pleaded guilty to first-degree murder.

On Jan. 1, Joseph Glynn, 70, struck his wife, Jackie Glynn, 76, in the head with a hammer, the Nashville Police Department said at the time. The next day, police said, he drove her body to DeKalb County, Tennessee, where he buried it.

Police said Joseph later told his late wife’s children that she had become terminally ill and decided to leave home, although his medical provider refuted that claim.

On Wednesday, August 28, Joseph pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree murder and was sentenced to life in prison, according to reports. The Tennessean, WSMV and WTVF. A record of his guilty verdict is also found in online court records reviewed by PEOPLE.

Police previously said Jackie’s body and car were found in separate locations in DeKalb County in the days after she disappeared.

The Tennessean He reported that when Joseph was interviewed by police, he admitted to killing Jackie before disposing of her body.

Want to stay up to date with the latest crime news? Sign up for PEOPLE’s free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.

Jackie’s son, Chad Folk, spoke at Joseph’s hearing on Wednesday, WTVF reported.

“I was told my mother had left and had been ill for a long time, and it was her will that they not follow her,” Folk said, adding that her daughters doubted their grandmother had left without telling anyone.

“My oldest daughter, through tears, said, ‘Yaya wouldn’t do that. She loved us too much,’” Folk said, according to the outlet. “‘She would never leave us. Something happened to Yaya. Dad, you have to find her.’”