MURRIETA -- The husband of a Murrieta woman found bludgeoned to death in her home last month was arrested Thursday and charged with her murder, authorities said.

Kelle Lee Jarka, 39, was arrested around 10:30 a.m. as he left Family Law Court at Southwest Justice Center in French Valley, said Murrieta police Detective Sgt. Jim Ganley. Jarka was attempting to regain custody of his two young children who were taken from him after their mother's death, Ganley said.

"We have evidence to show he staged a burglary to cover up that he is responsible for the death of his wife," the sergeant said.

The morning of April 28, Isabelle Jarka, 40, was found in the master bedroom of the couple's home on Tamarisk Street.

A coroner's autopsy later determined she had been hit at least 11 times on the head with a blunt object. Police have not recovered a murder weapon.

Kelle Jarka called 911 about 8:45 a.m. that morning to report that he returned home after a short shopping trip to find the home broken into, ransacked and his wife's body upstairs, police said.

"When he initially called 911, he did not reveal the death of his wife until 26 seconds into the call," Ganley said.

The murder investigation that followed led detectives to believe that Isabelle Jarka was not killed randomly by a burglar, police said.

"Detectives and forensic techs with the state Department of Justice painstakingly analyzed evidence in this case," Ganley said.

There were also several statements by Kelle Jarka that appeared to detectives to be inconsistent with the evidence.

Kelle Jarka told police he left the home that morning to run errands, including getting more baby formula for the couple's infant child. However, there was plenty of baby formula found in the home, police say.

Riverside County Deputy District Attorney John Davis said Thursday that, along with the murder count, a special allegation has been filed against Jarka alleging he committed the crime for financial gain.

"It is widely known that they were having domestic difficulties," Davis said with no further elaboration.

The prosecutor said life insurance policies on Isabelle Jarka listing her husband as the beneficiary had recently been taken out.

"There are at least three, that we know of so far, totaling around $1 million taken out within two weeks before the murder," Davis said.

The allegation that Kelle Jarka committed the murder for purposes of financial gain mean he could ultimately face the death penalty.

District Attorney Rod Pacheco ultimately will decide whether to request that a jury sentence him to death.

As now charged, the minimum sentence Jarka could face would be life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Jarka is being held without the possibility of bail and is scheduled to be arraigned either Friday or Tuesday, Davis said.

Contact staff writer John Hall at (951) 676-4315, Ext. 2628, or jhall@californian.com.