A Texas man has been arrested and charged with the stabbing death of his wife — less than a week after he was released on bail after threatening another family member and was given a ride back to the house by a police officer.
Mary Spears, 53, was f0und stabbed to death in the backyard of her home on Monday, according to the Arlington Police Department.
Investigators identified her estranged husband, 55-year-old Frederick Spears, as the suspect and located him the next day. But as they approached him, he began stabbing himself and refused orders to put down the knife.
Officers finally subdued him after using tasers, non-fatal rounds, and a police dog. He was taken to a local hospital, where he is recovering from his injuries.
Investigators say Frederick Spears “sent a concerning text message” to one of of his wife’s relatives, prompting the family member to go to her home to check on her. The family member found her in the backyard with multiple stab wounds. Detectives also found that Frederick Speras had sent text messages to his wife’s cell phone and other pople “that implicated him in her death.”
Police said that although Spearses were estranged, Mary Spears had “just recently” allowed Frederick Spears to stay at her home.
Last Wednesday, police were called to the home after he got into a verbal altercation with another family member and threatened them with two kitchen knives. He was booked into jail on one count of aggravated assault family violence and released the next day on bond.
As a condition of his release, an emergency protective order was issued that barred Spears from returning to his wife’s home or contacting her or other family members. But an Arlington police officers drove him back to the home at his request after he bonded out, police said.
“Upon arriving at the home, Mr. Spears got into a verbal argument with family members,” police said. “The officer who drove Mr. Spears ultimately instructed him to leave the location and he complied.”
The department said it “is conducting a comprehensive administrative review to determine whether changes to policy and/or procedures are necessary to ensure this does not happen again. ”
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[Featured image: Frederick Spears/police handout]
