Police: Before killing wife, Edmonds man claimed he was possessed

EDMONDS — In the hours before an Edmonds woman’s death Friday, she’d texted her daughter that her husband was in a normal state of mind.

But in subsequent texts, she wrote that her husband of 44 years, “keeps beating himself up” and saying “it’s judgment day today,” according to a newly released police report.

And just before 5 p.m. Friday, the Edmonds man called 911 to say he just tried to kill his wife, according to the report.

The man, 73, reportedly added that he was waiting for the police to come kill him and send him to Hell. He said he was possessed by demons, and “the judgment was to kill his wife,” according to the police report.

He told the dispatcher he tried to cut her throat with a kitchen knife, according to police. He said his kids were about to show up at his home in the 23400 block of 94th Avenue West. He was worried they would see his wife, 66, dead.

Officers asked the suspect to come out of the house, but he refused and told them to come in. Inside, they found the wife on the living room floor, according to an officer’s report. Two knives were found near the woman’s body.

He reportedly later told a doctor he’d killed his wife by asphyxiation.

The man told officers something about ruining his kids’ lives. And he couldn’t believe “a man would do what he just did,” police reported.

A relative told police the suspect had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder earlier this year after being found walking naked in his neighborhood. Since then, he’d become obsessed with conspiracy theories. Comments about a judgment day were not out of character, the relative reported.

In a police interview, the Edmonds man said he’d led a life of depravity. For several days leading up to the killing, he believed he or his wife would die due to the life he’d led, according to police. Because of that, he’d been rehearsing 911 calls in his mind for days.

The suspect reportedly said he woke up Friday believing this was his day to be judged. He claimed that as he was sitting on his couch, he had a thought “put in his head” to kill his wife.

Edmonds police arrested him for investigation of second-degree murder. He was held in the Snohomish County Jail with bail set at $1 million. He was scheduled for a first appearance in court Monday, but the hearing was postponed for medical reasons.

Herald writer Natalie Kahn contributed to this report.

Jake Goldstein-Street: 425-339-3439; jake.goldstein-street@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @GoldsteinStreet.