Mark Duenas is expected to make his first court appearance on Tuesday, where he'll face charges for the murder of his wife, Karen Duenas. Mark was arrested on Friday, five months after his wife was found stabbed to death in their Cottonwood home.
Friday's arrest did not come from out of the blue. Based on evidence, Duenas was named a person of interest months ago. Investigators were just waiting for DNA to link him to the crime.
According to court documents, Mark Duenas first implicated himself in his wife's murder during a 911 call. In the first 13 seconds of the call, he was heard saying "I killed my wife...blood everywhere."
After police arrived, Mark's peculiar behavior interested investigators. He appeared to be leading them to the backyard where he suspected they may find something. What they did find was an open window, and a window screen cut open. But investigators say the scene around the window and any kind of intruder theory did not add up.
At the time of the murder, Mark and Karen were sleeping in separate rooms. Possibly, investigators say, because Mark was in a relationship with a married woman in another state. Karen found out and forced him to break it off. But they continued to communicate via calls and text messages on a secret cell phone. The relationship ended months before the murder, but detectives learned at some point Mark said "something bad would have to happen" for them to be together.
The scene of the murder also added several clues. Karen was stabbed in bed where she died within seconds, but police found her on the floor propped up with pillows. Despite the gruesome scene, Mark Duenas did not have any blood on him when police arrived.
Early on, police say, mark stopped cooperating with the investigation. At the time, they did not have enough evidence to charge him with murder. But DNA evidence, processed by the Department of Justice, finally lead to an arrest.
Duenas is currently being held on $1,000,000 bail.
