Bruce Macomb strangled his wife with his hands and then cut his neck and wrists in an attempt to kill himself last week at their southeast Boise home, Ada County prosecutors said Monday.

Beba Macomb, 58, died around 5 a.m. Thursday, but police weren’t called to 1620 W. Warren St. until around 4 p.m. Bruce Macomb did not call for help, prosecutors said during his first court appearance.

Macomb is being held without bond at the Ada County Jail. Prosecutors had asked for a $1 million bond, but 4th District Magistrate Kathleen Irby ruled for no bond because it is a capital murder case.

Macomb faces a first-degree murder charge because prosecutors say he acted with premeditation and malice aforethought — the two elements needed for first-degree murder.

Prosecutors still have not offered a reason why they believe Macomb killed his wife.

It is also unclear who called 911 to ask for a welfare check on the Macombs’ home or how long Bruce Macomb was injured before police arrived that day.

He was treated at a hospital but was well enough to be booked into jail by Friday afternoon.

More than a dozen of Beba Macomb’s family and friends attended Monday’s arraignment hearing. All left without comment when it was over. Several cried and exchanged hugs outside the courtroom.

Bruce Macomb, who was kept in a wheelchair as a security measure, was lucid during his first court appearance and told Irby he understood the charges filed against him.

A preliminary hearing on the case is set for March 11.

First-degree murder is punishable by up to life in prison. Prosecutors could also pursue the death penalty against Macomb, but they won’t have to make that decision until his case is bound over to the 4th District Court, where felonies are tried.

Boise police officials declined to say Monday if officers had ever been sent to the Warren Street home before Thursday.

Bruce Macomb does not have a felony record in Idaho, according to court records. He pleaded guilty to a DUI charge in 1996 and has had a few traffic infractions since. Prosecutors said Monday he got in trouble for purse snatching in Oregon in 1973.

Patrick Orr: 377-6219, Twitter: @IDS_Orr