The husband of a U.S. Customs and Border Protection analyst was charged in her May 2008 death, according to Prince George’s County police.
Spencer Ellsworth Chase, 48, was charged with first-degree murder in the strangulation of his wife, 47-year-old Antoinette Renee Chase, police said. He was arrested Monday and held in jail without bond.
On May 20, police responded to a home in the 3000 block of Ladova Way in Springdale after Spencer Chase reported that his wife was unconscious. Authorities found Antoinette Chase lying on her kitchen floor and transported her to an area hospital. She was pronounced dead a short time later.
The next day, the Maryland Medical Examiner’s Office determined that her death was a homicide.
Detectives did not make an immediate arrest because they wanted to conduct a thorough investigation before presenting the case to the state’s attorney’s office, said police spokesman Cpl. Clinton Copeland.
“We would rather be cautious and accurate than to rush in and find mistakes that could possible hurt our case,” Copeland said.
Eight months before her death, Spencer Chase, of the 1700 block of Corcoran Street, was arrested on domestic violence charges the case was dismissed at Mrs. Chase’s request, according to court documents.
At the border patrol agency, Antoinette Renee Chase had worked as a management and program analyst with the office of International Affairs and Trade Relations. Before that, her federal career spanned three decades, which began with the U.S. Air Force and included the U.S. Army, Small Business Administration, and Department of Justice.
Her civil service work was recognized on several occasions with performance awards and a special act award, her office said. She was a graduate of Howard University and Eastern High School.
