SEATTLE (AP) — A 71-year-old Bellevue man accused of using a hatchet to kill his wife of 46 years has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder.
James Schumacher is charged in last month’s death of his wife, Jean Schumacher. His plea was entered Tuesday.
Charging documents say Schumacher told police his wife had threatened to divorce him and he was tired of her verbal abuse. He told police he hit her on the head about six times as she slept and shoved her body under a bed.
Two days later, on March 23, the man walked into a police station. Officers say that’s when he told them what happened.
