A man is suspected of hacking his pregnant wife to death and then hanging himself after an argument in Kampong Cham province on Friday evening, according to police.

Police said yesterday that Thoeun Kimtheng, 31, and his wife, Srey Nuch, 38, were visiting Kimtheng’s family in Kampong Cham’s Srey Santhor district when the murder-suicide allegedly took place following a heated argument.

“During their argument with each other, the family members of the suspect were not at home because they had gone to work as normal,” said district deputy police chief Hong Vuthy.

“The villagers also didn’t know the couple were arguing until after the husband killed his wife, because it was pouring with rain at that time” so they couldn’t hear anything, Vuthy said. “But then they saw the husband leave home carrying an axe covered with blood.”

According to Vuthy, vendors reported later seeing Kimtheng attempting to buy rat poison, which police believe he planned “to drink in order to kill himself”. But, he continued, “no one sold it to him”.

After returning to the house, Vuthy said, Kimtheng hanged himself.

Nuch, who was eight months pregant, was found dead nearby with multiple axe wounds on her neck.

“So far, we do not know the exact reason [for the killing],” Vuthy said. “The younger brother of the suspect said that the violence occurred because of jealousy, but he didn’t know what started the fight.”