Wife Held in Kinky Hubby's Bondage Death

April 23, 2008— -- A Tennessee woman is facing a reckless homicide charge after her husband was found dead and bound during an apparent bondage session gone wrong.

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.

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.

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.