PALM SPRINGS -- Prosecutors filed murder charges against a man whose wife had been reported missing Tuesday afternoon.

Richard Gustav Forsberg, 61, was arrested in Palm Springs Monday night on suspicion of killing her at their home in Rancho Santa Margarita, said Orange County Sheriff's spokesman Jim Amormino.

He could face life in prison if he's convicted. He remains jailed until his arraignment on Wednesday.

Marcia Forsberg, 61, of Rancho Santa Margarita, had not been seen by her friends since February, they told investigators with the Orange County Sheriff's Department.

Richard Forsberg had disappeared last week. Tuesday morning, sheriff's officials confirmed detectives tracked him down Monday at Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs.

Forsberg made ``incriminating statements'' to detectives, Amormino said.

He was held early today at the Men's Central Jail in Santa Ana, sheriff's Sgt. Jeff Foster said.

Acting on a tip from a nurse, who saw the search for him on television, detectives went to the hospital in Palm Springs area, located and interviewed Forsberg, then arrested him, investigators told News Channel 3's Mike Daniels.

Detectives publicized the case last week after Richard Forsberg disappeared.

Investigators had visited with him one week ago today, and he told them he last saw his wife March 13, but he did not report her missing, Amormino said.

Investigators went back to re-interview the husband Wednesday ``and he'd vanished,'' Amormino said.

The two were married for 39 years and were living together when she disappeared, Amormino said.

Deputies spoke with the couple's neighbors, who said Richard Forsberg explained his wife's disappearance by saying she had gone to Arizona.

Weeks later, he said the two were separating, but he expected her to return in September for the couple's 40th anniversary.