Mark Kelly has appeared in court after his wife, Sonia Marie Dixon (49), committed suicide. He is accused of aiding her in her suicide, not because she was seriously ill, but because of financial troubles.

The 47-year-old man, living in Harris County, Texas, bought the items for a “suicide bag”, according to the County Sheriff’s Office. This included tanks of helium, tubing, and plastic bags.

The police told ABC13 local news that after purchasing the supplies at a party store, he set up the equipment in their home and left the property. He returned the next day to find her dead on the floor, along with suicide notes around the house.

Sheriff's spokesman Deputy Tom Gilliland said, “He said he was gone for a few hours.”

He told the Houston Chronicle “When he got back, she was deceased. He showed us a suicide note and list of instructions she had left.”

The police also found searches for suicide by helium in their computer’s history.

Local news reports that Kelly lost his job as a truck driver after an accident. He had recently started working for a fast food business.

Kelly told the police his wife had wanted to kill herself due to their financial worries.

Last September, Dixon had filed for divorce but this had been dismissed by the courts last week as the motion had not been pursued.

The sherriff’s office said there was no evidence of foul play at the scene, however, assisting suicide is in violation of Texas’ state law.

Kelly could face up to two years in prison. He has been released from jail on a $2,000 bond.

Although the sheriff’s department would not provide information on Kelly’s nationality they did report that immigration authorities had placed a hold on the accused.

Here’s ABC13.com’s report: