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Wife Held in Kinky Hubby's Bondage Death

Police Say Woman Left Her Husband for 20 Hours Bound, Gagged Before He Suffocated

A Tennessee woman is facing a reckless homicide charge after her husband was found dead and bound during an apparent bondage session gone wrong.

Couple death
Rebecca Bargy, 25, was arrested and charged with reckless homicide after authorities discovered the body of her husband, 29-year-old James Bargy, in panty hose, with his arms and legs bound, a gag ball stuffed in his mouth and his head wrapped.
(Courtesy WKRN)

Authorities in Maury County responded to an emergency call Saturday afternoon about a dead man inside a Columbia trailer.

There, they discovered the body of 29-year-old James Bargy in panty hose with his arms and legs bound, a gag ball stuffed in his mouth -- which had been covered in duct tape -- and his head wrapped. The only opening for air were slits for his nostrils, according to Maury County Sheriff's Office detectives.

An autopsy found that Bargy died of asphyxiation.

Rebecca Bargy, 25, was arrested and charged with reckless homicide in her husband's death Saturday night. Authorities say she left her husband in the bonded state for more than 20 hours before she returned to their trailer to find him dead.

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She was arraigned Monday and remained in jail pending a bond hearing today. With no previous criminal record, Bargy could face four years in prison if convicted.

Maury County prosecutor Michael Bottoms, who acknowledged the unusual nature of the case, told ABC News that his office might consider more serious charges as the investigation continued. "We're considering other evidence in the case, and [the charge] may or may not change," he said.

But Rebecca Bargy and Sam Patterson, her attorney, claimed that James Bargy's death was a tragic accident that occurred during fetish behavior the couple often participated in together.

Mother-in-Law's Call to Police

She told police that she tied her husband up and left him Friday to meet another man at a local motel for the night. When she returned from the overnight date Saturday, she found her husband was dead and went next door to her mother's house. Her mother, Mona Phillips, made the 911 call to police.

"He's dead," a frantic Phillips told the dispatcher, according to a 911 recording obtained by ABC News' Nashville affiliate WKRN.

The dispatcher asks incredulously, "OK, your daughter has tied your husband up, ma'am?"

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