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Police: Ex-Durham cop tried to kill himself after stabbing wife

A former Durham police officer charged with killing his wife last week also tried to commit suicide, police said Wednesday.

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Tim Burns, Durham homicide suspect
DURHAM, N.C. — A former Durham police officer charged with killing his wife last week also tried to commit suicide, police said Wednesday.

Maxine Burns, 50, was found stabbed to death Friday night inside her home at 2917 Cedarwood Drive in south Durham.

Her husband, Timothy W. Burns, was taken from the house and was hospitalized for several days. He was released from the hospital Tuesday and was charged with first-degree murder in his wife's death.

Tim Burns was being held without bond Wednesday in the Durham County jail.

Kammie Michael, a spokeswoman for the Durham Police Department, said Tim Burns was hospitalized for "what appeared to be an apparent failed suicide attempt." He didn't have any stab wounds, she said, but didn't elaborate on his injuries.

He is a retired police officer who left the Durham Police Department in the late 1990s after about 15 years of service, officials said.

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