The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office released the tapes of the call Thursday, two days after authorities say 61-year-old Randall Willis shot Gilda Beth, also 61.
Records show Willis' home was foreclosed on and was scheduled for a public sale the day of the shooting.
The Tampa Bay Times reports Willis told the dispatcher his sleeping wife didn't know he was going to shoot her. He said his wife had been sick and that they'd “been through hell.”
Deputies say the woman was shot once in the chest.
Willis was on the porch when deputies arrived. He faces second-degree murder charges and is being held in the Hillsborough County Jail.