EDMONDS — An Edmonds man accused of accidentally choking his husband to death was ordered to be released from jail Monday.
An Everett District Court commissioner found probable cause for manslaughter after the man’s arrest early Sunday. Prosecutors motioned for the man, 47, to be released from the Snohomish County Jail. The commissioner obliged.
The two men had been married since 2020, according to a police report.
On Saturday morning, the man and his husband used methamphetamine, according to the police report. Around noon, the husband, 34, began having a psychotic episode.
The husband was paranoid that people were out to get him. He was having hallucinations, police said.
After eating dinner Saturday night, the husband’s behavior escalated, according to the police report. He threw household items, broke things and talked to people who weren’t there. The husband didn’t hurt or threaten to hurt the man, but the man was worried he would.
The man felt he needed to restrain his husband. So he tried to bear hug the husband, according to police. This started an hourslong struggle. The man thought about calling 911, but couldn’t because they were fighting.
The man reportedly later told police he’d successfully restrained his husband before, but the struggle had never escalated as much as it did this time.
When the bear hug didn’t work, the man transitioned to a chokehold of his husband. He did this two or three times to calm his husband down, according to the report.
The final time he used the chokehold, they ended up on the kitchen floor. After a few minutes, he felt his husband relax, according to court documents. He released pressure, but kept his arm around the neck. He fell asleep next to his partner.
After waking up, the man noticed his husband’s face was purple. Around 2:50 a.m., the man called 911. Paramedics pronounced the husband dead just after 3 a.m.
The suspect told investigators his arms and shoulders were “extremely sore” after the struggle, according to court papers. Police arrested him.
Authorities hadn’t publicly identified the deceased, as of Monday.
Jake Goldstein-Street: 425-339-3439; jake.goldstein-street@heraldnet.com; X: @GoldsteinStreet.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
