Police: Man driving in car with dead wife in passenger seat says she died in El Paso hotel

Police in Arizona say a detective making a traffic stop on Interstate 10 was speaking to a driver from Oklahoma when he noticed the man’s dead wife in the passenger seat.

Puckett reportedly told investigators his wife died in a hotel in El Paso, Texas, during their road trip. He said he moved her body into the car and continued towards their destination of California, ABC 15 Arizona reports.

ABC-7 learned that the hotel where Linda allegedy died in was The Hampton Inn & Suites located in west El Paso on South Desert Boulevard.

Officials say there is security footage from the hotel here in El Paso that shows the suspect wheeling his wife out in a luggage cart.

Hoetl officials declined to comment about the alleged incident.

ABC 15 Arizona reports police say they were tipped off to the situation after a fast food employee called police, saying a man and woman were naked in the car.

ABC 15 Arizona further reports the couple was in the process of divorcing. The wife reportedly issued a protective order from her husband on Feb. 6, 2019 then filed for divorce on Feb. 8, 2019. The protective order was still in effect on Monday, ABC 15 Arizona reports.

The Eloy Enterprise reports there is security footage from a hotel in El Paso showing Puckett wheeling his wife out of the hotel in a luggage cart. Police said the woman had signs of blunt-force trauma on her body, the article states.

Puckett was arrested on suspicion of abandonment or concealment of a dead body, and it’s not known whether he has an attorney who could comment on his behalf.

The body was turned over to the Pinal County Medical Examiner’s Office to determine cause of death.

Police did not respond to requests for additional information, including the couple’s hometown in Oklahoma or their destination.

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