DALLAS COUNTY, TX — A man who was shot more than 20 years ago during a fight with his wife has died from the bullet that lodged in his spine and left him nearly bedridden, the county medical examiner's office has ruled.

The fatally wounded man outlived the shooter, his wife, by four years.

The death last week of M.C. Russell, 60, was labeled a homicide, but investigators expect the case will be closed. Relatives said his wife, Lois, whom Russell later divorced, died four years ago.

Imogene Evans, who cared for her brother after the shooting, said Russell declined to press charges against his wife and never acted bitter toward her. "He said if he pressed charges against her, he was not leaving anything for God to do," Evans said.

Relatives said Russell and his wife got into an argument Nov. 6, 1967, during which Lois Russell grabbed a .22-caliber pistol and shot her husband once in the neck.