Man Calls News Station to Confess Murder

March 14, 2013 12:02 PM By Nastacia Leshchinskaya

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Tony Barrett, 41. Police photo.

Some murders just solve themselves. Seattle’s KOMO News reports that on Wednesday night a man called the station to request that they post a bit of breaking news on their Facebook page: the caller wanted the world to know that he’d killed his wife. Local news stations are used to crazies calling them at all hours of the night, but this tip turned out to be true. KOMO news called authorities and on Thursday morning, police found the body of 42-year-old Sara Barrett in a Tacoma motel room.

Though the caller, Tony Barrett, 41, seemed eager to confess his alleged crime to the world, he still wasn’t going down without a fight. After finding Sara’s body, and later, her car, police went to arrest Tony, but he sped away and engaged police in a chase that reached 100 mph. Then, after he was stopped by spike strips, he allegedly attacked police with a crowbar. Eventually, he was subdued by officers and a police dog.

Based on the conversation Tony had with the KOMO News assignment desk, it appears that he was contemplating suicide. He first said, ”I just killed my wife … I want you to put it on your Facebook,” followed by an ominous statement: ”It was supposed to be ’til death do us part, but she wouldn’t …. ” Then, Tony said, “I’m not going to be here much longer,” before hanging up.

Tony and Sara Barrett were married for over 20 years. In 2007, Tony was reportedly arrested for attempting to suffocate Sara with a pillow.