PHELPS, Arthur - Fountain County INGenWeb Project

Klamath Falls, Ore - Arthur A. Phelps, 43, Klamath Falls electrician accused of strangling his wife, was arraigned on a first degree murder charge Wednesday. A preliminary hearing was scheduled Saturday. State police said Phelps admitted choking his wife, Morene Ruth Phelps, 40, because he thought she was unfaithful. Police said he called a relative to come over to take care of his two sons, 9 and 10 years old, then drove off in the family car. He was arrested several hours later, driving on the outskirts of town. He is being held without bond. A sister-in-law, Mrs. Floyd Phelps, said she found the victim dead in her bed Tuesday after Phelps called her. She said Phelps left a note saying he had choked his wife and planned to kill himself. After his arrest Phelps told police he had tried to asphyxiate himself by lying beside his car with a tarpaulin thrown over the exhaust pipe. Friends said Phelps had appeared upset recently. The body of Mrs. Phelps was to be returned to Mellott, Ind., where she was born and where she attended school. She moved from Indiana to California in 1942 and was married in 1943. Survivors include her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Forest Crumley of Mellott, and two sisters, Mrs. Robert Harlan of Lafayette and Mrs. Edwards Sparks of Indianapolis.