Greenfield Man Charged With Homicide After Wife Found Stabbed To Death

GREENFIELD, WI — A 48-year-old Greenfield man is facing a charge of first-degree intentional homicide after police found his wife's body at his house weeks after she was stabbed to death, according to a criminal complaint filed in Milwaukee County Court.

Police were called to Braeden R. Ward's home in the 4700 block of Maple Leaf Circle on Wednesday and found the body of his 50-year-old wife, Jamie Ward, in a bathroom, the complaint said. Braeden told police he stabbed his wife on May 4 until he thought she was dead, but said he was helping her end her life at her request, according to the complaint.

Greenfield police found the body after a relative asked them to do a welfare check, the agency said in a news release Wednesday. Ward had told the relative in a phone call he cut his wife's throat and that her body could be found at the home, according to the complaint.

Ward told police that shortly after his wife's death, he began to wash her body every day and used fans to disperse the odor, the complaint said.

An autopsy found advanced decomposition on the body and stab wounds in the neck, abdomen and thighs, the complaint said.

Police arrested Ward on Wednesday after a brief standoff in Franklin in the 6900 block of Lovers Lane. He told police he had a gun, but police took him into custody without incident, according to the criminal complaint.

Ward told police he was helping his wife because she suffered from chronic pain, according to the complaint. He told police that his wife "had begun talking about killing herself, with the Defendant’s assistance, approximately a year ago," the complaint said.

If convicted, Ward could face life in prison.