A mentally ill man killed his wife with a pair of axes in Svay Rieng province on Saturday morning after the couple got into an argument over his suspicions that the woman was having an affair with the village chief, police said Sunday.
Kong Chanthoerun, 41, was struck in the head three times by her husband, Chan Sophy, 41, at their home in Svay Chrum district and died instantly at about 8 a.m., according to Kim Lai, chief of the provincial police’s penal bureau.
“When we got to the scene, he hadn’t even dropped his axes,” he said, clarifying that he did not personally go to the couple’s house in Kompong Chamloang commune.
“He told us he used [only] the smaller ax to kill his wife, but when we arrived, we saw two axes with blood on them,” he said.
Mr. Lai said the suspect—who suffered from a mental illness—told police that he murdered his wife because she had been sleeping with the chief of Russei Prey village, where they lived.
The village chief, Nuk Vuthy, said the accusation was false.
“I’ve never had a relationship with his wife,” he said. Mr. Lai said that Mr. Sophy would be sent to the Svay Rieng Provincial Court today to face murder charges.
