EVERETT — Detectives recovered an apology note in the home where a Lynnwood area woman was found shot to death last Saturday.

Snohomish County sheriff’s deputies believe Bart R. Larsen, 49, left the hand-written message and is responsible for the death of his wife. Cristy Ann Larsen, 47, was found slain at her home Saturday in the 1700 block of 215th Street SW after a relative called to have deputies check on her welfare.

Bart Larsen was arrested Thursday for investigation of second-degree murder. Bail was set at $1 million Friday afternoon.

The couple, both grocery store meat cutters, had been married for 17 years.

Relatives told detectives Cristy Larsen recently informed her husband she wanted a divorce. She told a relative April 14 that her husband said he would rather burn the house down than let her have it in a divorce, according to court papers.

That night, Bart Larsen went to a Seattle bar with friends and dropped them off between 11:30 p.m. and midnight, witnesses told police.

A neighbor told detectives she heard screaming and several gunshots early Friday morning, but she wasn’t sure where the sounds were coming from.

Deputies recovered shell casings from three different rooms in the home.

“It appeared (she) had been involved in quite a struggle throughout the house,” detectives wrote.

On Friday night, Bart Larsen was found passed out in his pickup on a Highway 99 offramp in Edmonds. He had taken pills and was slipping in and out of consciousness, police said. He was taken to a Seattle hospital where he spent time in the intensive care unit.

Detectives believe a handgun found in Larsen’s pickup was used to shoot Cristy Larsen inside the home.

Cristy Larsen previously filed for a legal separation in June 2001 but had the matter dismissed two months later, according to court papers.

Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446; stevick@heraldnet.com.