LYSANDER, N.Y. -- The husband of a Lysander woman reported missing this week has now allegedly admitted to her murder.

Onondaga County Sheriff Eugene Conway shared the news of Snezana "Suzie" Trifunovski's death Wednesday. Her husband, Pande "Pete" Trifunovski, is facing charges of second-degree murder and tampering with physical evidence in her death. 

The Onondaga County Sheriff's Office began investigating the disappearance of Senzana early in the day Tuesday, when the first report for a missing person came in.

Deputies blocked off Woods Road and went door-to-door talking with neighbors and inspecting the properties on the dead-end street. A helicopter was also brought in to assist in the search. Woods Road is a small residential street that runs parallel right next to Route 31 near the Belgium Bridge and Seneca River.

According to the sheriff, Pete admitted to ultimately causing her death, saying during an interview that it started as a verbal argument, then became a physical fight, during which he said he beat her to death. 

Court paperwork shows that he hit her with his hand, and then a wooden object, before placing a pile of clothing over her face to restrict her breathing. Pete Trifunovski told investigators that he took his wife's body to a storage facility that he was renting and left her there.

Suzie Trifunovski worked at a nursing home in Syracuse, and her co-workers were the ones to alert authorities after she failed to come to work Tuesday. 

The sheriff says there was a history of domestic violence in the home; they had been called there 11 times since 2000. But it was the deputy who followed up on the missing person's report who sensed this time was different.

"I believe in this case that Deputy Ungebret, the deputy that responded, he himself had been to other calls at that address, so he was in some way familiar with the residence and the parties involved there. But nonetheless, as you already heard, it wasn't certainly anybody in her family reporting her missing at that point, it was her co-workers,” Conway said.

The couple's son, who was also interviewed, did not live at the home, said Conway, who says some of the domestic-related calls involved him and his father. Pete Trifunovski had been charged with harassment in 2006 related to one of those incidents.

Co-workers at Syracuse Home, where Suzie Trifunovski worked, released a statement in response to her death. It reads:

"We are both disturbed and saddened by the death of our team member, Suzie Trifunovski.

Suzie was a devoted, dependable and dedicated caregiver at Syracuse Home for the past 22 years.

She was a kind, caring, compassionate spirit who will be deeply missed by both the residents and her Syracuse Home family."

They go on to thank the sheriff's department for a quick closure to the case.

An autopsy is being performed Wednesday.