Police in Svay Rieng town on Tuesday evening arrested the wife of a microfinance institution staffer – who was found brutally murdered near his home a few days ago – after finding bloodstains and a possible murder weapon in the victim’s bedroom, police said.

Svay Rieng province deputy police chief Hem Saban said police initially suspected that the man had been murdered after going out drinking with friends, but after the investigation yielded no evidence, they turned their suspicions on the victim’s family, finally settling on his wife, Ku Chandany, 21.

“We took two to three days to investigate by examining the body, the evidence, and analysing the suspect’s answers,” he said. “She lied to us, but we stuck to our skills.”

Saban added that the couple often fought over the husband’s drinking, and that Chandany had lost interest in the marriage.

Ku Sarom, the suspect’s father, said on Sunday that he had found victim Sean Pensry’s body early on Sunday morning, after Pensry had told his wife he was going out drinking with friends the night before. His wife had tried to call him about 3am, but Pensry’s phone had been turned off, and when the body was found, the phone and a $1,000 diamond ring were missing, he said at the time.

According to Saban, police found the ring in a wardrobe in Pensry’s house along with a bloodstained knife, and the phone was discovered at the bottom of a nearby pond. Pensry is survived by a 14-month-old daughter, he added.

Chandany was sent to court yesterday afternoon after being interrogated by police.

Svay Rieng town police chief Prak Chut said that according to Chandany’s confession, Pensry had indeed gone out drinking with friends, but had returned home at about 2am. The two began arguing, with Pensry reportedly slapping Chandany.

Angered by the slap, Chut continued, Chandany allegedly grabbed a cleaver and chopped the victim in the neck, then proceeded to hack him 11 times in the head. She then allegedly took an electrical wire and shocked the victim on the left ankle until he died. After that, he said, she dragged the body out of the house and left it to mislead police.