The perp - Not the skinny methhead I was picturing, way to go lady!
Posted on 09/10/2007 11:38:34 AM PDT by Mr. Brightside
Oregon woman kills hitman hired by her husband
Sep 10, 2007 01:50 PM EDT
PORTLAND, Ore. (NEWSCHANNEL) -- An Oregon man was sentenced to 10 years in prison Friday after hiring another man to kill his wife.
Susan Kuhnhausen fought off the hit man and actually strangled the attacker with her bare hands killing him.
In September 2006, Susan found an intruder in her southeast Portland home.
"I saw a man step out of the shadows and he began to hit me in the head and the face with a hammer," said Kuhnhausen.
For the first time publicly, she described how, fearing for her life, she fought back.
"I got the hammer and started hitting him with the hammer several times. My father, the carpenter, always taught me a hammer could be used for self defense -- the claw end would work the best," said Kuhnhausen.
The attacker was Ed Haffey, a drug addict who it turned out was hired by Michael Kuhnhausen to kill Susan.
"I yelled: 'who sent you here? Yelled again, 'who sent you here?'" Kuhnhausen said in court.
The plan failed as the emergency room nurse relied on her hospital self-defense training and began to bite, hit and choke Haffey.
"He turned blue as I told him you're not going to kill me." said Kuhnhausen.
Instead, she killed Haffey.
Police later found notes in Haffey's backpack linking him to Michael Kuhnhausen.
Susan called it a cowardly plan.
"If I ever believed you deserved to be dead, I would at least have had the balls to kill you myself," declared Kuhnhausen.
"I hurt a lot of people over the last year and I'm sorry. That's all I can say, I'm sorry," said Michael Kuhnhausen.
After laughing at that statement, Susan Kuhnhausen began to cry.
She was grateful her former husband apologized but she was also happy to know he too is suffering.
Michael Kuhnhausen pled guilty to soliciting to commit aggravated murder last month and was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Too bad her husband can’t be tried for premeditated murder even though she lived.
I wouldn’t mess with her but I sure wouldn’t mind having her on my side in a street fight!
God’s own justice is done.
So she thought someone might be sending someone to kill her? Seriously, the only time I have ever heard someone asking a question like that is in a movie.
I agree, very fishy. Would anyone being attacked by a total stranger have the idea to ask this question come to mind? There is a lot more to the story. If true, she was expecting something.
Hi 60gunner—here is a nurse story for your book!
I think it is kinda hard to answer that while being choked to death . . . [grin]
I love a happy ending!
The perp - Not the skinny methhead I was picturing, way to go lady!
If all you got is a hammer...everything looks like a nail.
It probably takes some of the fight out of you to get hit with the claw of a hammer.
Every female from early years should be taught self-defense with whatever is handy. If the father was a carpenter, it stands to reason he’d have talked about the tool he knows best.
I’ve taught mine, or had a black belt teach mine, some very effective self-defense moves, with and without “implements”.
I thought that was weird too...
Damned... 
I ain't asking her out!
Yeah, but he hit her with it too, then she took it away from him and did him in. Still pretty impressive in my book.
Time for a ban on hammers....... and hands too!
I’ve tried to teach my wife some self defense moves . . . pretty hopeless.
Entirely unnecessary statement. I'm sure he realized it at that point.
I inherited my big-boned structure from my mom.
Not many men could best them in hand-to-hand. If you shot them, it would take more than 1 round.
Tough mountain women from southern WVA. Hard to find in the age of remote control.
You are correct. According to Miss Manners, a lady always wears white gloves whilst strangling an attacker.
Yes, I totally made up that Miss Manners quote. If Miss Manners' attorneys are reading this, it's just a joke.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.