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Nishi Gupta Reporting"With interviews with him, all he would indicate is he had an urge to strike his wife."
A Layton man accused of killing his wife gives police some insight into a motive, but investigators are still trying to sort out some confusing details.
Police say 51-year old Richard Carlson attacked his wife Thursday morning, hitting her first with a blunt object then strangling her. When he thought she was dead he dragged her body into a bathtub and let the water run to make it appear she had drowned. She died from her injuries Friday afternoon at the University Hospital.
Police say this situation is very peculiar because they have no history of domestic violence or any kind of problems in this home.
Police say Carlson's 19-year-old son heard muffled noises coming from his parent's room. When he went to see what was happening he saw his father over his mother and it appeared she was being strangled. He called 9-1-1, and when police arrived they say they noticed Carlson's suspicious demeanor. That's when they went into the house and found his wife facedown in the tub.
Patrol Sgt. Travis Homer, Layton Police Dept.: "It makes you wonder what's going through his mind as to, how does he get to that point to do that kind of violence to another human being. It's tragic."
Today we've seen neighbors going in and out of the house. They say they're helping clean up--taking out the trash, getting rid of food that could spoil. They tell us the couple's two adult children--ages 19 and 24--do not plan on returning to the home. In fact, they are planning on moving out of state.
Richard Carlson is in the Davis county jail, facing attempted murder and tampering with evidence charges.
