Washington Suspect in Wife's Slaying Accused of Obstruction

June 25, 2013— -- A Washington state man has been named a suspect in his estranged wife's slaying after police arrested him on an obstruction of justice charge because they said he failed to turn in his passport.

Police charged Alan Smith, 37, with obstructing an officer Thursday in his Bothell, Wash., home after they were unable to find his passport and he failed to turn it over in the murder investigation.

Smith posted bond Saturday and was released from Snohomish County Jail early Sunday morning.

He has pleaded not guilty to the obstruction charge and subsequently turned in his passport. Officials consider him a flight risk, but he has denied killing the woman.

ABC News was unable to reach him for comment.

Smith has long been a person of interest in his estranged wife's death, but he has not been charged with a crime relating to her death.

Susann Smith was stabbed and bludgeoned to death in February in the home that Alan Smith now shares with his girlfriend. After the slaying, Smith moved back into the home.

"She was the love of my life for a while and the mother of my children, and my heart breaks," Smith told ABC News affiliate KOMO-TV in a sit-down interview hours before he was arrested Thursday.

In court documents, detectives say Smith had been looking into plane tickets to Venezuela around the time of the killing and checking Google for phrases such as "Will Venezuela extradite to the U.S.?"

Detectives say Smith had been purchasing "disposable coveralls and masking tape" from Home Depot around the same time of the slaying. The tools, detectives say, appear related to "planning, committing, cleaning up, hiding or attempting to destroy evidence."

ABC News consultant and former FBI agent Brad Garret said, "You may have a lot of suspicious behavior, and they've apparently not found anything that can forensically link Mr. Smith to his wife's death."

At the time of Susann Smith's death, the couple did not live with each other and were in a bitter custody dispute, according to court documents. Smith's two children are in state custody.

Thursday's arrest wasn't Smith's only run-in with the law last week. Smith was allegedly caught by police June 17 having sex with his girlfriend, Love Thai, outside their home after neighbors complained of screams coming from the house. No charges were filed against Smith or Thai in the incident.

Thai told KOMO she first met Smith after his wife's death. Thai continues to stand by Smith but, of any possibility that he killed his wife, said, "You know everyone has their breakdown. I don't know what his threshold is, but is the possibility and the capability there? Yeah," Thai told KOMO Friday.

It's unclear when Smith is expected to return to court on the obstruction charge.