Husband charged with wife's killing

When Tracy Floren drove up to find sheriff's deputies around his home near Kent last September, he quickly gave an alibi, even before police divulged that his wife of more than 20 years had been fatally wounded, according to court documents.

But police think he already knew she'd been shot. On Friday, prosecutors charged Floren, 64, with first-degree murder in the death of Nancy Floren.

On Sept. 2, deputies found the body of Nancy Floren, 56, lying on a hallway floor in the couple's home in an upscale neighborhood east of Kent. She had been shot twice in the head, and was dressed in a terry cloth robe. It was just after 6 a.m.

A revolver lay near her hand, but it had not been fired. A door entering the backyard was unlocked. A silent burglar alarm had triggered the officers' arrival.

Tracy Floren arrived at the scene after attending an early morning Alcoholics Anonymous meeting in Kent and told police that his wife was alive when he left. He seemed uninterested in his wife's condition and instead, immediately produced two documents: A receipt to show a cup of coffee he bought that morning at a Circle K store and a sign-in sheet from the AA meeting, court documents say.

But police found holes in his story.

He has been in custody since Thursday, when sheriff's investigators arrested Floren while he was overseeing construction of a new home in Sequim that originally was intended as the couple's "dream home" for their retirement. His bail was set at $4 million.

His arraignment is scheduled for April 9 at the Norm Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent. If convicted, he could face 25 to 31 years in prison.

According to charging documents, investigators examined materials found at the home and in Floren's car that, after months of testing and analysis, gave prosecutors sufficient forensic evidence to file charges. Police think Floren tried to render the scene as if his wife had been killed during a burglary.

Someone had scored a window on the back door with a sharp object, leaving a square-like hole, as if a burglar were trying to get in. But police later found glass shards in Floren's brake pedal and in his clothing and shoes, court documents say.

Police also realized that someone had recently jumped over Floren's backyard fence and trudged through an overgrown retention field, leaving a trail. Police found two fluorescent foam earplugs just over the fence -- the same type of earplugs Floren used for recreational shooting. They were stained with traces of his DNA, court documents say.

His wife had been shot with a .22-caliber gun, matching one registered to Floren that is unaccounted for, court documents say.

Floren battled alcoholism, which had poisoned the marriage, according to court documents. Nancy Floren had confided to friends that her husband's most recent enrollment in treatment was his "last chance" to stop drinking, court documents say.

He had disclosed during his treatment sessions that he felt angry toward his wife when she tried "to control his money" and that he was worried about her leaving him, court documents say.

Nancy Floren worked as a chief financial officer for Husky Trucks International. Her husband lives in Sequim and would stand to benefit financially from his wife's death with a $250,000 life insurance policy and the couple's $500,000 retirement account, court documents say.

King County Sheriff's Sgt. John Urquhart said there were no previous reports of violence between the couple.