Man Allegedly Beat And Strangled Wife To Death Because She'd Become A Burden After Stroke

An Arizona man is accused of killing his wife because he felt she had become a burden to him and his children after she suffered a stroke.

Jonathan David Conaway, 45, allegedly struck his wife Janice Conaway, 43, with a wrench before strangling her with a cloth belt on Monday in Phoenix, according to Maricopa County Court records cited by the Arizona Republic..

After allegedly killing his wife, Conaway called police to inform them that she was dead.

“I killed my wife, she’s inside,” he allegedly told the 911 operator, according to ABC15 in Phoenix.

Police arrived to find the victim on a couch with noticeable head trauma, the alleged murder weapons nearby.

Conaway allegedly told police that he and his wife had been on the outs for about 14 years but she became a burden when she suffered a stroke. Law enforcement officials say he admitted he “killed Janice so their boys did not have to take care of her and require them using a substantial amount of money,” according to court records.

Conaway lost his job two weeks before the murder, and he allegedly told police that he began considering killing his wife at that point.

“Jonathan felt like a failure and viewed Janice as a burden,” court records state.

jonathan conaway

Conaway allegedly told police he chose Monday for the attack because the couple’s two children would be at school, according to the Arizona Republic.

He is being held on a $1,000,000 bond for first-degree murder. It’s not clear if he has a lawyer who can speak on his behalf at this time.

[Photo: Maricopa County Sheriff's Office]