A detective with the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office (MCOA) identified as John C Byrd III has been arrested for strangling his wife.
Byrd, 47, reportedly had an argument with his wife, Elizabeth, following which he strangled her to death.
He has been booked into jail on charges of second-degree murder. Bond has been set at $750,000.
According to reports, a friend of Elizabeth Byrd called police around 5 p.m. Wednesday to report that Byrd had failed to turn up for a gym class they usually take.
Mesa Police stormed the residence of the couple on East Irwin Avenue, in the area of Baseline and Crismon roads, and found a woman’s body on the floor of the master bedroom.
A search was quickly organized to find Byrd as he was not at home and was refusing to answer his phone.
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Police later found him driving his wife’s car and arrested him.
In an interview with Mesa PD, he admitted to strangling his wife.
John Byrd told detectives that he had recently been dealing with some mental health issues and was extremely stressed out due to issues in his professional and his personal life.
According to him, he was arguing with his wife when he simply snapped and strangled her. Court documents quoted his exact words as “a switch just flipped,”
Byrd ironically was working in the MCAO’s Investigation Division in the Family Violence and Trial West Bureau.
He had previously spent five years as a detective with the Arizona Department of Juvenile Corrections.
Elizabeth Byrd was described by neighbors as a mom of three young kids who was incredibly kind.