Sheriff’s deputies arrested an elderly Lompoc man Tuesday morning on suspicion of murdering his wife.

Officers responded to the home of Eugene Carl Morgan, 77, after dispatch received information from a male caller who said he had just killed his wife. When deputies arrived at 8:40 a.m., Morgan surrendered without incident and was taken into custody.

Officers entered the home in the Mission Hills area of Lompoc and discovered Jean Morgan, 78, laying on the kitchen floor and bleeding profusely from a severe head wound. The victim was unconscious and breathing when officers arrived, but she died shortly after ambulance transport to the Lompoc Hospital emergency room.

Sheriff’s Dept. spokesman Chris Pappas said Morgan was bludgeoned to death, but an investigation into a possible motive for her killing is ongoing.

Eugene Morgan is being held without bail at the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s main jail where he was booked for murder.