Detective locks wife's body in room, leaves 3 kids home alone, Arizona police say

MESA, Ariz. -- An Arizona detective has been arrested and charged in his wife's death after he allegedly strangled her and locked her body in their bedroom before fleeing the scene.

John Byrd, 47, has been arrested and charged with one count of second degree murder after he admitted to police that he strangled his wife to death, according to the Mesa Police Department in Arizona.

Byrd told police that he has had "some mental issues lately and has been very stressed about his home and work life," according to a police booking report obtained by ABC News.

Byrd had a heated argument with his wife the morning her body was found and said that "during that argument 'a switch just flipped' in him and he put his hands around the victim's neck and strangled her to death," Byrd told police, according to the police report.

Byrd then told police that he left her body in their bedroom and locked the door so that the children would not see her. He told police that he knew what he had done was wrong, according to the report.

Byrd's wife was found dead in their home after a woman reported her missing on Wednesday after she had not been seen or heard from for most of the day and failed to show up to a gym class they always attended together.

The woman who reported her missing had contacted the couple's 11-year-old son by text and was told the boy and his siblings -- ages 8 and 4 -- had not seen their mother all day and her bedroom door was locked, according to police.

The woman also told police that the victim's husband had left home at around noon Wednesday and had not returned, so she picked up the three children and took them to her home, police said.

When police arrived on the scene, Byrd's employer was at the residence to pick up his work vehicle because Byrd was on medical leave from his job. Police gathered additional information before they entered the house to conduct a welfare check on the victim, police said.

The victim was found dead on her bedroom floor, with no major visible injuries seen on her body, according to police.

Byrd was not in the residence and police could not find or reach him by phone. No calls had been made from the residence to report that the woman had been injured.

Officers and detectives found Byrd driving a vehicle registered to the victim and he was detained. A search warrant was authored for the couple's residence and physical evidence was collected from Byrd.

The Maricopa County Attorney's Office, where Byrd was employed, told ABC News it is "in the process of ending Byrd's employment."

The Pinal County Attorney's Office will handle Byrd's prosecution.