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A husband has been accused of shooting his wife THREE TIMES because she 'nagged' him for leaving the coffee machine on.

Police say 65-year-old Larry Lotz lost control during a row at their home near Chicago.

He told investigators he "had enough of her nagging" and shot Karen Lotz, 59, in the head.

Lotz, an army veteran, is charged with first-degree murder for shooting his wife.

He is being held in custody pending the payment of a bail bond set at $3 million.

What started as a domestic row soon turned violent, say police.

The couple were arguing over the coffee machine being left on and that's when Lotz went for his gun.

After the argument, Lotz walked out of the kitchen and into his home office, where he grabbed a .45-caliber handgun, Assistant State’s Attorney Chris Corbin told the Chicago Tribune.

When his wife followed him into the office Lotz fired four shots at her, striking her three times - including once in the head, Corbin told the paper.

(Image: Chris Murphy)

Lotz apparently owned up to the killing during two phone calls. One was to his son and the other was a reported confessed to a 911 operator.

Read more:American man 'guns down his own son because he thought he was a burglar'

The paper said he told the dispatcher: “I just shot my wife. I just shot my wife. Please, send an ambulance.”

Mrs Lotz was rushed to a nearby hospital , but soon died.

One of the couple's children, Matthew Lotz, told reporters his father "adored" his mother, and added: "There's never been any violence in the house."

Lotz also confessed to police as they arrived on the scene, and again during a videotaped interrogation after his arrest, it is claimed.

Mrs Lotz, who worked as an admissions supervisor at Harper College in nearby Palatine, Illinois, was remembered fondly by her colleagues.

Read more:Worried wife uses 'Find My iPhone' app to trace missing husband - and discovers him shot dead

"She was just as passionate about helping others advance and develop as she was interested in furthering her own education,” college registrar Sue Skora told WGN-TV.

She added that Mrs Lotz had worked there for 20 years and was pursuing a graduate degree in higher education administration.

Lotz is in court on February 8.