A woman in Tacoma Washington who shot and killed her husband during the first week of June, had been claiming she was God’s wife in the days leading up to her husband’s gruesome murder. Janae Bunten, 34, has been charged with second-degree murder for the death of her husband, 31-year-old Nicholas Andrew Bunten who succumbed to multiple gunshot wounds inflicted by his wife.
According to the News Tribune, on the day of the murder, the victim’s parents had called the Puyallup Police department and requested a welfare check on Nicholas. The parents had a brewing concern after attempting to check on their son themselves. They told investigators that they had spoken to his wife but she said her husband was not at home at the time, although his car was still parked at home.
In a press release statement issued on June 8 by the police department, Captain Dan Pashon said the victim's relatives expressed utter concern for the husband's welfare as they believed the Janae was in possession of several firearms. The couple's four children were removed from the residence as a Tactical Response Team responded along with several negotiators.
“They further reported that the defendant had been delusional lately, and had been claiming that she was God’s wife, and that the world was coming to an end,” prosecutors stated in charging documents.
When police arrived at the residence, Janae would not respond to the officers. Neighbors told police that Janae was spotted toting a rifle and stepped out of the home with the gun in hand and allegedly began turning the lights in the residence on and off.
Police reports stated the officers were able to make contact with the wife in the backyard and after a brief conversation she fired multiple shots at the officers who then returned fire. The woman was shot and officers were able to take her into custody.
The husband’s lifeless body was found in a bathroom next to two shell casings with a bullet underneath him. According to the Pierce County Medical Examiner’s Office, the autopsy determined the victim had died from the gunshots. However, his body was also found to have been mutilated, with his stomach cut open after he was killed and parts of his internal organs had been removed.
One of the couple’s children claimed that their father had been sleeping all day at the time of the incident and that their mother was trying to “cleanse him.” The siblings were not allowed to see their dad that time because, according to their mother, he was doing a “spiritual mind thing” and could not be disturbed.
A neighbor who spoke with authorities also claimed to have heard a loud argument coming from the couple’s home the day of the incident which ended in what sounded like two gunshots.
