'Is my wife OK?' NZ man inquired after bride killed

Blazej Kot with father Leszek and wife Caroline at the couple's second wedding ceremony in Costa Rica just a month before she was murdered. Photo / Supplied

"Is my wife, Caroline Coffey, OK? Where is she?" were the first words spoken by a New Zealander charged with brutally murdering his new bride in the United States before dumping her body in a nearby walking trail.

New York State police allege Blazej Jakub Kot, 24, cut the throat of Dr Coffey in June and set fire to their apartment to cover up the crime.

He was found blood-stained in his car one night in early June and led police on a high-speed chase, before apparently trying to kill himself.

The following day the blood-soaked body of Dr Coffey, 28, was found on a wooded trail in a state park, just 350m from the couple's home in the town of Ithaca.

An Auckland University graduate in computer science, Kot was a PhD student at the prestigious Cornell University, where his wife was a biomedical researcher.

Of Polish descent, Kot was born in Zaire but lived most of his life in Auckland.

He has been charged with murder, arson and tampering with evidence.

Court documents filed this week have revealed the evidence gathered by police and Kot's behaviour on the night he is alleged to have killed Dr Coffey, the Star Gazette newspaper reported.

"Is my wife, Caroline Coffey, OK? Where is she? We were jogging near 921 Taughannock Boulevard, our house," Kot asked ambulance staff treating him, according to documents filed by his defence lawyer.

The couple were married last year, but held a second ceremony in Costa Rica just one month before Dr Coffey was found dead.

She had been uploading wedding photos to Facebook just hours before being killed that night, something that Kot mentioned to paramedics treating him.

In the court papers, defence lawyer Joe Joch asked for any statements Kot made that would show he was "in a confused state related to her death".

"[Kot] was obviously distraught, frightened and emotionally unstable when he was first encountered by police.

"This is evidenced by his panicky attempt to flee from the officers and his desperate attempt to fatally wound himself while still operating the vehicle."

Mr Joch said in the documents that his client's behaviour did not necessarily indicate guilt, but possibly that Kot was "emotionally out of control because of his failure to protect his wife from a bloody and murderous attack at the hands of someone else".

A police officer patrolling the park, where Dr Coffey was later found, approached Kot, who was sitting in his car, and noticed he had dried blood on his arms.

Kot then led police on an 8km car chase, reaching speeds of up to 140km/h, running red lights and weaving through traffic before crashing into some trees.

Kot was found clad only in a bathrobe, slumped over the wheel and bleeding from life-threatening lacerations to the neck, apparently self-inflicted.

Meanwhile, police went to the couple's apartment, which was allegedly set ablaze deliberately.

Blood-stained sneakers and burned clothes were found there. Blood samples were taken from the refrigerator, light switch and a computer. Investigators also found matches, a lighter and an empty can of flammable solvent.

Kot was taken to hospital, where he was visited by his family, but has since been transferred to a county jail.

The murder trial is expected to take place in November.