Glenda Peck divorced Larry Peck twice and remarried him both times while the couple lived in Florida.
Larry Peck, 68, is accused of first-degree murder in the shooting death of his wife early Saturday morning.
They had a troubled marriage, said the victim's sister, Trish Walker, who lives four houses away from the Peck home on Covington Way in Cajah's Mountain.
Deputies found Glenda Peck, 66, dead in her house after she made a 911 call at 4:11 a.m. to say her husband had a medical condition and was becoming violent, according to reports from the Caldwell County Sheriff's Office.
She was shot several times with a handgun, according to authorities, although they will not say how many gunshot wounds she received or where she was shot.
Deputies said they found Larry Peck hiding in a closet at the house. He was not violent and was taken into custody without incident, said Detective BJ Fore, the public information officer for the sheriff's office.
As he made his first appearance in court Monday morning, Larry Peck said he did not remember doing anything and that his diabetes caused his blood-sugar level to drop, according to Hickory Daily Record news partner WSOC-TV.
Larry Peck also told WSOC he still loves his wife.
"When your sugar gets that low your brain just goes wacko and it's happened a few times," he said.
Fore said the sheriff's office has no record of ever responding to law enforcement calls at the Peck home.
Caldwell County Emergency Services officials said they have responded to the home three times since July 2008, each time because of Larry Peck's diabetic problems.
Diabetes can affect emotional stability, said Beth Rudisill, a diabetes educator and clinical educator for psychiatry services at Catawba Valley Medical Center.
She said she has seen people with uncontrolled diabetes act in a way they normally would not, but Rudisill said that is not necessarily because of blood-sugar levels alone.
When Rudisill counsels newly diagnosed people about diabetes, she talks about emotional stability and depression. She said a warning about possible violence is not part of the standard counseling curriculum.
Rudisill also said no one should be afraid of a person simply because that person has diabetes.
Marriage records show the Pecks lived in Palm Beach, Fla., when they were married the first time in January 1988. They divorced in July 1988 and remarried in January 1991. The couple then divorced in December 1991 and remarried for the final time in July 1995.
Details were unclear about when the couple moved to their home in the Covington development. It's a tidy neighborhood with manicured lawns and neat, mid-sized homes. Residents wave at passing drivers.
Accusations that a husband murdered his wife in this quiet, middle-class community illustrate how the danger of domestic violence can lurk in the most tranquil of settings, said Ruth Phelps, who coordinates the First Step program to combat abuse.
"Domestic violence can cross all lines," she said. "It happens across all ages, all races and all income levels."
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