HOUSTON—A man who initially said a spiky-haired intruder fatally stabbed his wife has confessed to the crime, Harris County sheriff’s deputies said Friday.

Damion Faulkner, 36, was charged Thursday with murder in the death of his wife, 49-year-old Dorothy Faulkner.

Deputies told the Houston Chronicle for its Friday online editions that Faulkner described the suspect who killed his wife as a Hispanic man, 6-feet tall with a medium build, spiky hair and possibly a beard.

A few hours later, when Faulkner’s story collapsed under detectives’ questioning, he confessed that he had fabricated the home invasion and that he was the killer, Harris County sheriff’s deputies said Friday.

Faulkner was being held at the Harris County Jail in lieu of $50,000 bond. Information on an attorney for Faulkner was not immediately available Friday.

Deputies said Faulkner initially told them he and his wife were surprised by the intruder at 6 a.m. Thursday in the couple’s home. He said the intruder had stabbed him once and his wife several times before fleeing without stealing anything.

Faulkner later confessed that he had staged the crime scene, even stabbing himself to make it look more realistic, police said. He was treated for minor injuries at Memorial Hermann Hospital.

He told deputies that personal and financial problems had strained his relationship with his wife and motivated the stabbing, officials said.

Tax records show that Faulkner owed the IRS nearly $20,000 and that his wife owed nearly $15,000.