The man accused of staging a home invasion and killing his wife in Covington pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in a Kent court on Monday, according to the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.
A judge set bail at $60 million for 41-year-old Kyle Cathcart, who allegedly stabbed his wife, Jodi Cathcart, to death on May 1.
At the time of the incident, Kyle Cathcart reportedly called 911, and claimed someone had broken into their home and stabbed both him and his wife, according to court documents.
He reported that he tried to fight them off but he lost consciousness at some point during the invasion, investigators said.
Three of their children were home at the time of the incident.
Emergency personnel declared Jodi dead at the scene and a medical examiner’s report found that she had over 40 lacerations to her neck, head, arms and hands.
Kyle Cathcart recounted the story with authorities in an interview at the King County Sheriff’s Precinct in Maple Valley the day of the incident, then he was released, according to court documents.
He was arrested on May 5 in Renton after the clothing was found in a neighbor’s trash can, covered in blood with the keys to his truck in the back pocket.
After he was detained, he allegedly admitted he had planned to kill Jodi for a month and to make the scene look like a robbery, documents said.
His trial is scheduled to start in July.