A man who nearly hanged his wife in the garage of their Spokane home last fall has pleaded guilty to second-degree attempted murder.

Sean Jennings, 38, will spend 12 years in prison under a plea agreement filed this week in Spokane County Superior Court. He had originally faced a first-degree attempted murder charge.

Jennings lured his wife into the noose last October by telling her he had set up a haunted house for Halloween - he released her when she lost consciousness, and told her hanging was better than divorce. The divorce was finalized a month later. (AP)