Police officers were alerted to the Springfield home at about 3:30 p.m. local time after the couple's adult daughter arrived at the house and witnessed her father repeatedly hitting her 76-year-old mother with the non-bladed portion of the axe.
"The family member was able to rescue the victim, bring her outside," Reem Awad, an officer with the Fairfax Police Department, told FOX 5 DC. "At which point, the male suspect did follow outside and a struggle ensued over the axe. 911 was called at that point and we responded."
Once on the scene, one of the responding officers found the man lying on the floor in the home's garage with life-threatening injuries. The man was later pronounced dead at the hospital.
"One officer was able to see inside the garage where the suspect was located on the floor," Awad said. "He appeared to have life-threatening injuries to the upper body. He has since died from those injuries. They appear to be caused by a chainsaw."
Police will not be releasing the identity of the husband to protect the identity of the victim, who was taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries, NBC 4 — Washington reported.
The incident is still under investigation.
