An Arizona detective has been charged with second degree murder in the death of his wife at their home in Mesa this week.

When he was finally found driving his wife’s car and taken into custody, John C. Byrd III told investigators that during a heated argument with his wife early Wednesday morning, “a switch just flipped” and he strangled her, AZFamily reported.

He left her dead on the bedroom room floor, locking the door so their three young children wouldn’t find her, and fled the scene.

Mesa Police found the dead woman after a friend called police Wednesday afternoon to say Elizabeth Byrd hadn’t shown up to a gym class they attended together and she had been unable to reach her. The friend said she texted her friend’s 11-year-old son, who said that he and his 8- and 4-year-old siblings hadn’t seen their mother all day and that the bedroom door was locked, KNXV reported.

Byrd, the child said, had left about noon and had not returned. The witness said she went to the home, picked up the children, and brought them to her own house before calling 911.

Mesa Police officers found the victim in the bedroom and began a search for Byrd, who was not home and was not answering his phone.

After he was brought in for questioning, Byrd — who was on medical leave from his job as a detective with the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office, AZ Family said — told investigators that “he has had some mental issues lately and has been very stressed about his home and work life.”

The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office said in a statement that they were “in the process of ending Mr. Byrd’s employment” and that the Pinal County Attorney’s Office would handle prosecution of the case and that

AZFamily reported that Byrd worked as a detective with the Arizona Department of Juvenile Corrections before joining the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office.

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[Featured image: John C. Byrd III/Mesa Police Department]