NSA Mathematician is Charged with Bludgeoning Wife to Death with Dumbbell

A former college math professor at James Madison University has been charged with the brutal murder of his wife in their Maryland home.

Jason Martin, 41, bludgeoned his wife, 42-year-old Carla Dee Martin, with a dumbbell while their three children slept upstairs, according to Howard County Police.

Martin was a mathematician with the National Security Agency, PEOPLE reports.

Read: Whereabouts Found! Snowden's Girlfriend Living with Him in Russia

Police were first alerted to a disturbance late Tuesday when one of their couple's neighbors in the town of Laurel called 911 to report that Mr. Martin had knocked on her door while covered in blood to ask for help with his injured wife.

Police arrived around 11 p.m. and found Carla Martin in the basement with injuries consistent with blunt force trauma, according to a police statement.

Near Mrs. Martin's body, police discovered a blood-covered dumbbell.

Read: Satanist Awaiting Murder Trial Found Dead in Apparent Suicide

Carla Martin, herself a math professor at James Madison University, was transported to an area hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

Jason Martin was arrested at the scene and charged with second degree murder, according to arrest records. He was also charged with first- and second-degree assault.

Martin was booked and jailed overnight before making $500,000 bail on Thursday.

At court hearing Thursday, a public defender representing Martin told the judge that Martin had no criminal record and was pursuing a doctorate in math from Cornell. 

A call made to the Howard County public defender's office over the weekend was not immediately returned.

The three children, all of whom are under age 12, did not witness the alleged attack on their mother.

The children were placed in the custody of a member of their mother's parents.

Watch Below: John Oliver Went to Russia for 48 Hours to Ask Edward Snowden about Hot Pockets