Husband accused of murder in wife's death

Family and friends said he abused her before the killing

A 66-year-old man has been charged with murder in the fatal stabbing last week of his 56-year-old wife inside their apartment, according to court documents and authorities.

Gary Barronga Garcia is accused of killing Analee

Mariano Garcia about 5:46 p.m. March 21 inside their apartment in the 25000 block of Cypress Avenue.

He is being held without bail at Santa Rita Jail and is scheduled to enter a plea April 11.

Police were called to the apartment March 21 by neighbors who heard the wife screaming for about 10 minutes, before the screaming stopped. One neighbor later told police Gary Garcia was seen wiping blood off his hands as he left the apartment before police arrived, court documents say.

Analee Garcia was pronounced dead at the apartment.

Police said they were told the couple had been married for more than two years.

Police have not released a motive for the killing. But according to court documents, family and friends told police in later interviews that Gary Garcia was abusive to his wife, and they had worried about her safety. They also reported past incidents of domestic violence between the two, the documents say.

Police said they had not been called to the residence before.

After fleeing the apartment, Gary Garcia drove to a relative's home in Santa Clara County. The relative was able to convince him to surrender to police, which he did to San Jose police, who notified Hayward.

Gary Garcia did not give a formal statement to Hayward investigators about the killing, the documents say. But after his surrender and while being treated for visible cuts to his hands, he made spontaneous statements to those around him claiming his wife had attacked him with a knife, which he was able to wrestle away from her and use to defend himself, the documents say.

An autopsy later determined Analee Garcia had been stabbed numerous times, including four wounds to her chest. She also had multiple defensive wounds to both her hands and forearms, the documents say.

Police later served search warrants on vehicles belonging to Garcia and a relative, recovering multiple knives and blood evidence, the documents say.