Michael Cohn, a 61-year-old Scottsdale resident, called the Scottsdale Police Department Wednesday morning to alert the authorities that he had just killed his wife of more than 26 years, Linda.
The way events are described in court documents obtained by New Times, Cohn sounds like one of the most nonchalant murder suspects we've ever heard of.
Cohn told a 911 operator that he'd just killed his wife at their home near Bell Road and Thompson Peak Parkway in North Scottsdale and that her body was on the second floor of the house.
The operator asked if paramedics could come into the house to treat his wife, but Cohn "said it was too late," according to the documents.
Cohn repeatedly was asked what happened, but he said nothing for about two minutes.
Eventually, he replied, "I strangled her," according to the documents.
Again, Cohn was asked whether his wife needed paramedics and, again, Cohn said it was too late.
The dispatcher was persistent, asking whether Cohn was sure, and whether paramedics could go in the home.
Cohn replied, "You can try," according to the documents.
The dispatcher asked Cohn whether he would give his wife CPR if they gave him instructions on how to do it.
"The male then said that her tongue was hanging out of her mouth," the documents state.
By the time officers arrived, Cohn simply opened the front door and was detained.
Cohn, who had blood on his shirt, told police "that he had strangled his wife with his bare hands and that she had been dead for about an hour," according to the documents.
Officers found Linda dead on the floor in a bathroom, but she was still warm to the touch.
Linda's neck was discolored, and blood was dripping from her nose and right eye.
Police said Cohn literally had blood on his hands and scratches on his own neck. After being booked into jail on a first-degree murder charge and read his Miranda rights, Cohn asked for an attorney, and didn't answer any questions other than to say he was married to Linda in 1986.
Cohn's bond has since been set at $1 million.
