A Phoenix woman admitted to fatally smothering her husband with a pillow in 2005 before burning his body and dumping it on the Navajo Reservation in northern Arizona, according to court documents released Friday.
Jane, 43, was arrested Thursday in the case that went cold for five years before new information led Phoenix police to what is believed to be the victim's remains. John, 79, was last seen in May 2005 at his home on 14th Place near Camelback Road. Jane, his wife of 10 years, claimed he left her for another woman. She reported her husband missing four days later, police said. Detectives suspected foul play at the time but had been unable to make an arrest until this week.
Maricopa County Superior Court records show Jane told her sister in December 2009 that she smothered her husband with a pillow at their trailer in Phoenix. She then said she put his body in the trunk of their vehicle and drove it to a site in Chinle, investigators said, where the remains were recently discovered.
In May of this year, the case resurfaced when detectives received information they believed linked Jane to the crime. She was interviewed in Chinle where she confessed to detectives that she murdered her husband because she was mad at him, records show.
*the names have been changed to protect the innocent
Observations / Commentary:
1) Since when is it a crime to smother your husband in his sleep? It’s got to be better than being slowly tortured to death … just ask my husband.
2) John, 79, left his trophy bride, Jane, 38, for another (probably younger) woman…foul play? Nah! Totally believable. However, John must have been very spry for his age because Jane really didn’t expect him home before 4 days. It is the Viagra generation!
3) Finally, the “what happens in Chinle stays in Chinle” rule was definitely broken.
