A 52-year old Edmonton man charged with killing his wife has been ordered not to have any contact with his three children.

Tesfai Negasi, who has been charged with second degree murder and offering an indignity to a body, made a brief court appearance Tuesday.

Police investigate the death of Selamawit Negasi, 46, whose body was discovered in her home on Sunday. (CBC)The Crown prosecutor asked that Negasi be ordered to have no contact with three witnesses to the crime.

The judge asked whether those witnesses were the man's children, and the Crown confirmed that they are. The children are now staying with other family members.

On Sunday, Negasi walked in to police headquarters in downtown Edmonton and told an officer at the front desk that he had killed someone.

Police went to the man's house in north Edmonton and discovered the body of his wife, Selamawit Negasi, 46.

An autopsy has been done, but police are not releasing the cause of death, saying it is part of the investigation.

These types of crimes usually end with a confession, Staff Sgt. Lorne Pubantz said Monday.

"We're starting this kind of a little bit backwards ... in my 30 years of policing, it's extremely rare in cases of death," Pubantz said.

Negasi will make his next court appearance in early August.