An 83-year-old man was arrested in connection with his wife’s stabbing death at their Phoenix home after he tried to tell police she died by suicide.
Donald Cunningham is accused of stabbing his wife multiple times in the head, face, eye and torso sometime between June 20 and June 23, court documents said.
On June 23 at about 12:45 p.m., Cunningham called Phoenix police to report an attempted suicide near 19th Avenue and Camelback Road.
Cunningham told dispatchers that his wife killed herself four days ago after an argument between the two had turned physical. He claimed his wife had stabbed him in the arm and he had locked himself in the bathroom.
Officers went to the apartment and attempted to open the door but initially could not because it was barricaded with kitchen furniture, court documents said.
Upon entering, officers noticed apparent blood throughout the apartment.
Officers heard a dog barking in a bedroom and tried to open the locked door.
Officers kicked down the bedroom door and saw Cunningham on the bed with jumper cables around his neck and his hand raised. Court documents added that Cunningham was covered in blood and had a cut on his left arm.
Officers detained Cunningham and took him to a hospital, where he told staff that his wife had stabbed him, then she stabbed herself to death.
On June 24, the next day, the Arizona Humane Society received a call from Crisis Intervention that a dog needed to be removed from Cunningham’s apartment.
Humane Society workers removed the dog and informed police of a dead body, identified as Cunningham’s wife, found inside the apartment.
Officers located the dead woman on the floor between the bed and the bedroom wall, and she had multiple stab wounds, court documents said.
Cunningham was detained and taken to Phoenix police headquarters after being discharged from the hospital, court documents said. He refused to speak to investigators about the incident, court documents said. He was arrested and booked on suspicion of second-degree murder.
Cunningham’s son, Adrian, told investigators that Cunningham and his wife were married for 15 years, and they met and married in the Philippines.
Adrian explained that Cunningham and his wife would get into frequent arguments that would sometimes turn physical. He said the arguments were typically over Cunningham’s use of methamphetamine or his old age, court documents said.
Adrian told investigators Cunningham was arrested nearly three months prior for assaulting his wife, court documents said.
The last time Adrian saw his father’s wife alive was Feb. 20, the court documents said. He confirmed that she did not have a history of suicide attempts.
Adrian told investigators he returned to Cunningham’s apartment on Feb. 23 but did not get an answer at the door. He said he had not spoken with Cunningham or his wife since then, court documents said.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Phoenix man arrested, accused of fatally stabbing wife
