AZ - Michele Davis, 35, brutally murdered in her Goodyear home, 26 March 2015

GOODYEAR, Ariz. (AP) — A man stabbed his wife to death after he slapped one of their seven children for playing videogames and she confronted him about it, police said Friday.

Goodyear police said the children witnessed at least part of the Thursday night attack, and a 14-year-old daughter called 911 to frantically plead for help.

The husband also called 911 after the attack, reportedly crying "hysterically," apologizing and saying he'd lost his mind and stabbed his wife, police said in a court document. The document identified the husband as 37-year-old John Leo Davis and the wife as Michele Davis. Police said she was 35.

Authorities say a son told investigators that the husband struck him after becoming upset with the boy for playing videogames, and the child then told his mother and she confronted the father, starting an argument. The children saw the husband then chase the wife with a knife from the kitchen to the front door, where police found her body in a pool of blood, the document said.

Investigators counted at least 13 stab wounds in her back, authorities said.

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Her brother-in-law, Joe Nunemaker, says Michele Davis was a stay-at-home mom who was also going to school to become a nurse. “She was always happy, striving to help others,” he said. “She lived her life for her kids”...

Right now his main concern is making sure her kids are taken care of. “These kids are going to have to deal with that for the rest of their lives,” Nunemaker said. “Our goal moving forward is just to make sure we know what those needs are, and we're doing everything we can to meet them”...

For now, the children are staying with grandparents and other family members until they figure out where to go next.

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The document said a law enforcement criminal history for the husband indicated he had several previous arrests in alleged domestic violence cases involving Michele Davis or a former spouse in at least two other states — Utah and California.

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State prosecutors will seek the death penalty against a Goodyear man accused of killing his wife if he is convicted, court documents show.

John Leo Davis, 38, is accused of stabbing and killing his wife, Michele Davis, while their children were present. Davis in April pleaded not guilty to charges of first-degree murder, child abuse and disorderly conduct and is being held on a $2 million bond, according to court documents.

Prosecutors this week filed a motion of intent to seek the death penalty if Davis is convicted of first-degree murder, documents show. Prosecutors allege that Davis committed the offense in an especially heinous, cruel or depraved manner.

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