Bellevue Homicide Details Emerge in Court Documents

A Bellevue man who , according to court papers filed over the weekend.

James William Schumacher, 71, walked into headquarters Friday and said that he had killed his wife, Jean Schumacher, also 71, two days before, Bellevue Police said.

James Schumacher is being held in King County Jail in lieu of $1 million bail and the county has until Wednesday March 28 to charge him formally, according to the King County Prosecuting Attorney's office.

The couple have adult children in the Seattle area. Schumacher worked for The Boeing Co. and U.S. Steel, each for 17 years, according to the Bellevue Police Department.

Schumacher told police that the couple were married for 46 years and she was belitting to him and condescending, and he had a history of assaulting her in the past and had been arrested for it.

According to court papers, Schumacher told police that his wife threatened to divorce him and then went to her bedroom and locked the door Tuesday night.

The next morning, according to Schumacher's account, he selected a hatchet from the garage to "Scare the s*** out of her" and then entered her locked bedroom with a nail, where his wife lay on the bed. Schumacher said that he thought his wife was awake but ignoring him, and he hit her with the hatchet five or six times in the head.

Schumacher told police that he cleaned the hatchet, took their bloody clothes and stuffed it into a large plastic bag and put it in the closet, and then shoved her under the bed, according to court papers.

Schumacher told police that he contemplated suicide or driving away from the house, but then decided to turn himself in to the police, according to court papers.

He faces a charge of first degree murder and is being held at the King County Jail in Seattle on $1 million bail.