UPDATE (2:35 p.m.):
According to the interim complaint obtained by KGUN 9, Birch admitted to killing Rae-Hansen to her co-workers when they came to the house to check on her. They then called 911.
Birch told officers that he and Rae-Hansen began arguing about Sandra booking a hotel without talking to him first.
The argument escalated. Birch began choking Rae-Hansen.
Birch said that Rae-Hansen was able to talk and told him to stop and leave.
Birch stopped choking her, the complaint said. He was walking out of the bedroom when Rae-Hansen threw an object at him and struck him in the back.
Birch turned around and choked her again, killing her, the complaint said.
Birch admitted to officers, post-Miranda, to killing Rae-Hansen, the complaint said.
Birch showed signs of intoxication during his interview, the complaint said.
—————————-
A woman who didn't show up to work was found dead in her Midtown home Wednesday.
According to a news release from Tucson Police Department, officers went to 74-year-old Sandra Joyce Rae-Hansen's home in the 1600 block of East Prince Road to perform a welfare check at around 9:45 a.m.
Rae-Hansen's coworkers contacted police after she failed to appear for work and were unable to reach her, the news release said.
Before officers arrived, coworkers spoke with Rae-Hansen's partner, 66-year-old Steven Joseph Birch, at the door of the home. Officers found that Rae-Hansen was dead upon entering the home.
Birch was detained. After an investigation, detectives charged Birch with first-degree murder/domestic violence.