Man, 47, 'helped his wife, 49, kill herself because they were having financial troubles'

A man allegedly helped his wife commit suicide after she said she wanted to kill herself because of their financial troubles.

Mark A. Kelly, 47, allegedly bought and set up equipment for his wife, Sonia Marie Dixon, 49, to asphyxiate herself with helium, authorities said.

Kelly, from Harris County, Texas, bought the items for a 'suicide bag', the County Sheriff's Office said.

Arrested: Mark A. Kelly allegedly helped his wife commit suicide because of their money worries

After buying a plastic bag, plastic tubing and helium tanks from a party store, he set up the equipment for her to use, he told police.

He then left and returned the following day to find her dead on the floor and suicide notes around the house, authorities said.

 

'He said he was gone for a few hours,' sheriff's spokesman Deputy Tom Gilliland told the Houston Chronicle.

'When he got back, she was deceased. He showed us a suicide note and list of instructions she had left.'

Scene: Kelly returned home to find his wife dead on the floor and suicide notes around their apartment (pictured), he told authorities

Police also found searches for suicide by helium on their computer.

Kelly left the home on the Thursday and arrived back on Friday. He called police on Saturday.

Assisted suicide is often thought of in connection to terminal illness, but investigators believe financial problems was the motive in Dixon's death.

Kelly lost his job as a truck driver after an accident, KTRK reported. He had started working at a fast food business.

Kelly told authorities his wife wanted to kill herself due to their money worries.

Locked up: Kelly is being held at the Harris County jail in Texas. He could face two years behind bars if convicted of assisting suicide

Dixon had filed for divorce in September, but it had been dismissed two weeks ago because it was not pursued, the Chronicle reported.

Gilliland said there was no evidence of foul play in her death.

Kelly was arrested on a felony charge as assisting in a suicide is a violation of state law. He could face up to two years behind bars.

He is in Harris County Jail on $2,000 bail.

Gilliland added that immigration authorities have placed a hold on Kelly, but he did not give information on the man's nationality.