An Arizona man is suspected of decapitating his wife, killing and mutilating their two dogs, hacking off his own arm and gouging out his eye, police said Sunday.
Authorities stumbled onto the horrific scene on a quiet residential street in Phoenix on Saturday morning after a man told a 911 operator about a mentally ill neighbor involved in a "cutting" incident, police said in a statement.
When officers arrived at the apartment complex, they found a man with "a severed left forearm, cuts on his chest, and [he] appeared to be missing his right eye," police said. "They could also see large amounts of blood on the floors, cabinets and walls of the apartment."
Inside a bedroom closet, the police found the body of Trina Heisch, 49, and two small dead dogs.
Phoenix police Sgt. Trent Crump described an "absolutely horrific scene out here," telling NBC station KPNX that the suspect "apparently had self-amputated his left arm just below the elbow," Crump said.
The man, whom police haven't officially named but who is described as 43 years old, also told the officers that he had killed three family members, but police spokesman James Holmes told NBC News that no additional bodies had been found.
While police said that Heisch and the suspect have a history of mental illness, domestic violence and drug abuse, Holmes added that it remained unclear what triggered the attack.
The couple met at a mental health facility, where they married, police said.
A neighbor told NBC News that they typically stayed indoors, except when they fought. "Yelling was common," the neighbor said.
Heisch was arrested in March for domestic violence assault after allegedly trying to stab her husband, police said, while her husband was arrested in 2003 and accused of trying to kill a relative.
The man will be booked for murder — and animal cruelty — once he is released from the hospital, officials said.