New details in case of Bellevue man who killed his wife

A 71-year-old Bellevue man who walked into a police
station on Friday and admitted killing his wife of 46
years two days earlier is being held in jail in lieu of $1
million bail.

Bellevue police say James Schumacher murdered his 71-year-
old wife with a hatchet while she was in bed and waited
two days before walking into a police station Friday
afternoon.

“He subsequently made a full confession to murdering his
wife actually two days earlier at their home in the Lake
Hills neighborhood,” said Officer Carla Iafrate.

Police said they went to a home at 144 159th Ave.
SE on Friday where they found the deceased woman under
a bed.

“The suspect claimed he was tired of his wife’s abuse and
killed her with a hatchet, shut the door to her bedroom
and locked it, and waited two days before telling
authorities,” Iafrate said.

The couple reportedly had a dispute several years ago that
resulted in the wife filing for a restraining order, but
that had apparently been resolved. While they had their
issues, Iafrate says there was “nothing really extensive”
in regards to spousal abuse throughout the couples’ 46
years of marriage.

According to the court documents, Schumacher said his wife
had wanted to divorce him, but he didn’t want it to
happen. After hearing his wife get up Wednesday morning to
feed the dog, he went out to the garage and got a hatchet.
He walked back to his wife’s bedroom where he planned to
“scare the #$%& out of her.” The door was locked, but he
managed to pick the lock with a nail and get inside.
Schumacher’s wife appeared to be asleep, but he thought
she might be awake and ignoring him. He hit her on the
head five or six times with the blade side of the hatchet.

Schumacher told police he cleaned off the hatchet, stuffed
all the bloody clothes into a closet, and then shoved his
wife’s body under the bed where she remained for two days.

Schumacher said he thought about getting into his
car and driving away or committing suicide, but instead
turned himself into police.

The King County Medical Examiner’s Office has not released
the woman’s identity.

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The Associated Press contributed to this report.