Murder of Dallas Kellis by Margaret Kellis examined on Snapped

Snapped is examining the murder of Dallas Kellis, who was gunned down by his octogenarian wife, Margaret Francis Kellis, at their home in Aberdeen, North Carolina.

On July 20, 2016, 81-year-old Margaret shot 76-year-old Dallas twice, once in the head and once in the back.

The killer dialed 911 and began telling the dispatcher a long, rambling story about how she had gone to MacDonald’s to get her husband a ham sandwich, but when she returned, he wasn’t responding to her, and she thought he was asleep.

The transcript was later played in court and began, “My nephew died down in Bladen County, and we were going down there. My husband told me when I woke up this morning (to) run up to McDonald’s and get a ham sandwich, and when you get back, we’ll get dressed and go, that way we won’t have no mess to clean up.”

She continued rambling until, at one point, the dispatcher interrupted, asking, “O.K., ma’am, what’s going on?” Margaret responded, “I think he’s dead.” The couple had been married for five years.

Three months later, the Moore County Sheriff’s Office arrested Margaret, charging her with one count of felony murder and one count of felony forgery.

Eighty-two-year-old Margaret Kellis was deemed a ‘danger’ to the public

The case gained national media attention when a judge refused to lower the now 82-year-old’s bail because she was deemed to be a flight risk and a danger to herself and the public.

The wheelchair-bound defendant had requested her bail be lowered from $1 million to $100,00 so she could be released to visit her terminally ill son.

However, the request was denied after she was accused of threatening to kill a fellow prisoner, 45 years her junior, at the Moore County Detention Center.

The octogenarian criminal was also accused of intimidating the witnesses at her murder trial in the hope of having them change their statements.

At a hearing, Homicide Detective Sgt. Anthony Guerra warned Margaret was a flight risk. He claimed, “I have been told by family members that if she is released, we will never see her again.”

Margaret Kellis imprisoned for killing husband Dallas Kellis

In June 2019, Margaret Kellis was convicted of manslaughter and was sentenced to seven to nine and a half years.

Margaret was incarcerated at the North Carolina Correctional Institution for Women in Raleigh, NC, until her release on parole in February 2023.