Arizona cop who strangled his wife to death and left her body in the house with his three children blames work stress

A detective from Arizona blamed stress about his home and work life for the violent attack that killed his wife . He now faces a murder charge.

John Byrd , who was a detective for an Arizona prosecutor’s office, was arrested earlier this week in connection with the death of his wife. He told police that he got into a “heated argument” with his wife and “ a switch just flipped.”

On July 31, friends reported Byrd’s wife missing after she failed to turn up at her regular gym class or any of her prearranged plans for the day. They alerted police after they spoke to the victim’s 11-year-old son, who said he and his two siblings - aged 8 and 4 - had not seen their mom all day as she was locked in her bedroom.

• Mother burned 13-year-old daughter's rapist alive after his sick taunts when released
• Indianapolis mass murderer sentenced to 145 years after killing four people

When police arrived they found the unnamed victim dead in her bedroom behind a locked door. She had no visible injuries at the time. Byrd was pulled over driving his wife’s car, and taken to the police station for questioning. According to the police report, he told the police that he had been stressed about his home and work life.

ALL THE LATEST CRIME NEWS AND UPDATES

Byrd told police that he got into a “heated argument” with his wife and “ a switch just flipped.”

He then admitted to investigators that he strangled the victim and left her in the bedroom. He locked the door so their children would not see her, according to the report.

Byrd has been charged with second-degree murder.

For the latest local news and features on Irish America, visit our homepage here .