Man accused in wife’s death claims blackout

A 24-year-old Spokane Valley man accused of killing his wife over an alleged affair told police he “blacked out” during the argument that may have ended Jamie Braffith’s life.

According to court records, Anselmo Ricardo Braffith III, who had been drinking and only remembered hitting his wife “in the back,” woke up Saturday morning to find her dead, covered with a bloody blanket at the foot of the basement stairs at the couple’s home in the 4400 block of North Adams Road. The court records contradict earlier reports, which gave a different last name for Jamie Braffith and said the Braffiths were not married.

Braffith then loaded the couple’s four children into the family’s van and drove across the state, where he turned himself in to Tacoma police Saturday.

Spokane Valley police found Jamie Braffith’s body Saturday night, and Anselmo Braffith was booked into the Pierce County jail on suspicion of second-degree murder. The children were placed with relatives in Tacoma.

On Tuesday, a Pierce County judge ordered Braffith held for a maximum of 72 hours while authorities determine charges. His bond was set at $250,000, said Jerry Costello, Pierce County deputy criminal prosecutor.

Spokane Valley police Chief Cal Walker said detectives and the Spokane County Prosecutor’s Office are working on paperwork to have Braffith returned.

“The action took place in Spokane; that’s where the charges will be filed,” Walker said.

According to a declaration written by Costello, Braffith told police that he confronted Jamie Braffith on Friday night about her alleged affair with another man. The confrontation included “some hitting,” the records state.

Anselmo Braffith went to a friend’s home, then a nearby tavern where he had a “schooner of beer and another drink.”

He returned home, and the argument again turned physical. Braffith said his wife hit him several times, and he showed authorities a minor bruise on his arm and a minor abrasion on a leg, the records state.

Braffith said he hit his wife “in the back” and then “blacked out.” On Saturday morning, Braffith told authorities he woke up early and started to go downstairs into their basement to do laundry and saw his wife’s dead body. She had been “covered with an extremely bloody blanket,” the records say.

Braffith drove his children to his mother’s home in Tacoma, and she urged him to turn himself in to police, the records say.

Spokane Valley police found the woman’s body at the foot of the stairs, the records state.

Walker said the exact cause of death won’t be known until an autopsy is completed.