Woman Found Dead in Motel After Husband Admits Murder to TV Station, Leads Police on Pursuit Over Narrows Bridge

A man who called a television station to confess killing his wife was arrested early this morning after a high-speed chase across the Narrows Bridge. The woman was found dead in a Tacoma motel room just before 7 a.m.

KOMO News reports the couple is from Puyallup though the Tacoma News Tribune indicates the victim is from Spanaway.

The regional television news network said that 42-year-old Tony James Barrett called the news assignment desk and said he killed his wife. He asked the TV station to put the information on Facebook. KOMO notified police.

Investigators found the woman’s car at her work in Dupont with blood inside it. She was found dead in a room at Tacoma Motel 6 on South 76th Street.

The husband was spotted by police and fled from officers in his vehicle, reaching speeds of over 100 mph as he crossed the Narrows Bridge.

Spikes were used in the roadway to stop the car on Highway 16, then the man exited the car and tried to attack officers with a crowbar, said Pierce County Sheriff’s spokesman Ed Troyer.

The TNT reports Barrett was taken to the hospital following his arrest, and police were continuing to try and talk to him. The Barretts have been married for over 25 years. 

The couple does have a history of violence. In 2007, Barrett faced charges of assault against his wife after he tried to suffocate her with a pillow. Charging papers say the couple went to a dance club and returned home late when Barrett became "enraged." He held the pillow over his wife's face and told her to be quiet, that he "would kill her if she didn't shut up."

Sarah's adult son heard the commotion through the bedroom wall and punched his way through the door and tackled Barrett, who left before police arrived.

Barrett was eventually arrested and charged with assault in Pierce County court; he pled guilty to lesser charges, paid $800 in restitution and was advised to go to domestic violence and drug/alcohol counseling, documents show.

An order of "no hostile contact" against his wife was put in place for five years. The no contact order had expired Feb. 25, 2013.