Man who allegedly said he strangled his wife because he 'didn't want her to suffer' charged with murder

TACOMA -- A 57-year-old man was charged with murder Monday for strangling his wife because he "didn't want her to suffer" and then tried to kill himself, prosecutors said. Bail was set at $2 million.

Last Thursday morning, Michael Leroy Brown walked into the bedroom where his wife was sleeping and strangled her with his belt, the Pierce County Prosecutor's Office said. He called 911 to report what he had done.

"When deputies arrived," the prosecutor's office said, "Brown answered the door and said, 'She’s upstairs.' Then, he locked himself in a bathroom. Deputies were eventually able to get Brown to open the door, and he was bleeding profusely from a cut to his neck. He told the deputies, 'I killed my wife, I didn’t want her to suffer.'"

According to the prosecutor's officer, Brown said he had recently lost his job and did not want his wife to endure the consequences. He also admitted that he previously attempted suicide shortly after Christmas.

Brown said he was treated with anti-depressants, and was taking his medication at the time of the murder. He was transported to the hospital for treatment of his self-inflicted neck injury, the prosecutor's office said.