Wisconsin Man Claimed He Killed His Wife Because She Was In Pain, Washed Decomposing Body Daily: Cops

A Wisconsin man allegedly stabbed his wife to death and claimed she asked him to end her life because she was in chronic pain, authorities said.

Braeden Ward, 48, faces a charge of first-degree intentional homicide in connection to the incident involving his wife, Jamie Ward.

According to a criminal complaint obtained by WITI, on May 18, a woman phoned police in Greenfield to report Braeden Ward “had called her and stated that he had cut his wife's, victim Jamie Ward's, throat approximately ten days ago.”

The defendant allegedly told the woman his wife’s body could still be located at the couple’s home.

When officers arrived at the residence, Braeden Ward was gone. When police spoke to him over the phone, the complaint states, he allegedly told them that “he had helped the victim end her life” because “the victim had suffered from chronic pain for twenty years and that he could not help her.”

The complaint states the suspect allegedly told police his wife was in the shower on May 4 when he “stabbed her in the neck and she died approximately four minutes later.”

According to the court documents, Braeden Ward said his wife’s body began to decompose and smell so he washed it daily and used fans to disperse the odor

The victim’s body was found in the couple’s bedroom.

Authorities took the suspect into custody without incident, the criminal complaint states, and during questioning he allegedly said that the day before Jamie Ward died, she asked him again “to end her life” and he “agreed to assist the victim in ending her life.”

The accused killer was being held on $1 million cash bond.