: PORTLAND, Ore. - (AP) When Susan Kuhnhausen returned home from work one day earlier this month, she encountered an intruder wielding a claw hammer. After a struggle, the 51-year-old nurse fended off her attacker by strangling him with her bare hands.
Neighbors praised the woman for her bravery, and investigators said they believed the dead man — Edward Dalton Haffey — was burglarizing Kuhnhausen’s home.
But after an investigation, police now say the intruder Kuhnhausen strangled was apparently a hit man hired by her estranged husband — Michael James Kuhnhausen Sr. — to kill her.
The 58-year-old husband was taken into custody Thursday and charged with conspiracy to commit murder and attempted murder. He was ordered held on $500,000 bail.
Haffey had worked as a custodian under Kuhnhausen at an adult video store, according an affidavit filed by the Multnomah County District Attorney’s office.
Kuhnhausen and his wife were in the process of getting a divorce, and she told officers “her husband was distraught about the divorce and wanting to reconcile but that she was insisting on the divorce,” the affidavit states.
A background check showed Haffey had served lengthy prison terms for conspiracy to commit aggravated murder and convictions for robbery and burglary.
Inside a backpack Haffey left at the scene was a day planner with “Call Mike, Get letter,” scribbled on the week of Sept. 4, the affidavit said. Michael Kuhnhausen’s cell phone number was jotted on the inside of a folder, it said.
An emergency room nurse who lives in a southeast Portland neighborhood, Susan Kuhnhausen arrived home on the evening of Sept. 6 to find Haffey coming at her with a claw hammer.
She was struck in the head and wrested the weapon away, but the struggle continued and Haffey bit the nurse, according to police. A large woman, she was eventually able to get the slight Haffey into a chokehold and police later found him dead in a hallway. An autopsy revealed the cause of death as strangulation.
Police say she acted in self-defense.
There was no sign of forced entry into the home, but according to the affidavit, Susan Kuhnhausen offered an explanation for the lack of evidence of a break-in: Her estranged husband had the security codes for the home’s alarm system, and would have been able to disarm it.
Michael Kuhnhausen denies any involvement, the affidavit states.
Susan Kuhnhausen was out of town attending a nursing conference and did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment.
She left this message on her voicemail: “I’m not able to answer all the calls that I’ve received in the past few days. I’m being comforted by your concern and your support. I want you to know that our lives are all at risk for random acts, but more likely random acts of love will come your way than random acts of violence.”
LMAO! THAT IZ SOME CRAZY SHYT! WHAT KIND OF BOOT-LEGG HIT MAN WAZ THAT??? WEELL I GUESS HE KNOW THE HAZARDS OF THE JOB, SOME SOME HAD TO DIE!!
AND THATZ ANOTHER RASON WHY IM NEVER GETTIN MARRIED, SOME PEOPLE WOULD JUST STAY TOGETHER AND BARE IT, BUT THEN THERES CARES LYKE THIS! IM AFARID THAT SOME IDIOT WIT GAME THAT MY WIFE MIGHT HAVE ON THE SIDE, WILL CONVINCE HER TO DO SOMETHING EXTRA LYKE THIS. WHEN ALL SHE WOULDVE HAD TO DO IS COME UP TO ME AND TELL ME, YA KNOW!
That's goodie for his azz....she choked the life out his azz. I know the husband was like...DAMN!! In fact, I know exactly how it went down....like to hear it???
*Scene begins in adult store with Snow White and 7 Dorks playing on the screen*
*Hubby and hitman talking*
Hubby- Man...my wife won't come back to me...If I can't have her, nobody can! I don't know what I'm gon do!
Hitman- Man...for $5,000 and a couple of 'em dere videos, I can handle that.
Hubby- I don't know man...you kinda scrawny...my wife weighing in like 360!
Hitman- *thinking he's invincible*- Man, I got this.
*fast forward to incident*
*Wife comes home and feels something ain't right (women's intuition...says to herself, "I wish a nekka would)*
*Hitman jumps out and tries to hit her*
Wife- Oh you just gon come up in MY crib and try to take me out, huh?
*with her hands around his neck shaking his head up and down with each word*
After I put up with that man for 37 years and I'm finally free...you tryna take me out. Oh hellz no...I'm gon live the rest of my life, but you ain't!
*hitman stops moving*
*Wife rummages through hitmans bag and finds husbands # in notebook and calls him*
*hubby picks up*- "Is the job done"?*
Wife- Hell no, you dumb mofo...I'm still here, but your hitman is swimming with the fishes and your azz is on your way to jail.
*wife calls the cops, gets a glass of wine and calls her boyfriend to come over and spend the night!*
Now THAT'S what happened!
I ain't lying!
THATS WHAT IT IS RIGHT THERE THAT CHICK GAVE HIM THE BUSINESS LOL I DONT MEAN THE BUSINESS THAT YOUNG BERG RAPS ABOUT! AND SHE'S FROM OREGON AND IN HER 50s MY HATS OFF 2 HER SOME1 GIVE HER THE WHOOP ASS AWARD OF THE YEAR!! HE CAME AT HER AND OPENED THE CAN OF W.A. UNFORTUNATELY SHE HAD THE UPGRADED VERSION AND UNLEASHED IT ALL OVER HIS ASS GOOD JOB SUSAN I SALUTE YOU! CAN WE GET THIS WOMAN A KEY 2 THE CITY OR AT LEAST A FREE RED LOBSTER DINNER I NEED 2 MEET HER DID SHE TAKE ANY TIGER SCHOULMAN CLASSES? DOES IT MATTER NAW NOT REALLY KUDOS SUSAN KUDOS!! LMAO
@ JERZEETHICKNEZ UR OFFICIALLY THE BADDEST BITCH ON MTO FOR THAT SCENARIO ON HOW THE WHOLE THING WENT DOWN MY HAT GOES OFF 2 U BECUZ IM @ WORK ROFLMAO THINKIN YEP THATS EXACTLY HOW IT WENT DOWN THANK U FOR BRINGIN A SIMPLE MTO STORY 2 LIFE I BOW DOWN!! PPL PPL WE ALL LEARNED 2 THINGS HERE 2DAY HOW 2 BRING A STORY 2 LIFE AND NOT 2 FCKU W/ AN OLD HOUSEWIFE FROM OREGON BECUZ SHE'S TIRED WORKED HARD ALL HER LIFE AND WILL CHOKE THE SH!T OUT OF U IF U COME @ HER W/ SOME DUMB ISH!!
I live in Portland, OR and this case was all over the news.... The husband was sentenced to life in Prison. There is alot cases similiar to this up here... One man killed his wife in front of a Police Station, these affluent and educated communtities where these crimes are happening. Just goes to show money does not make you better it can make you worse.
IF SHE KILLED HIM IN "HER HOUSE" AND HE WAS THREATING TO DO BODILY HARM TO HER WELL GOOD FOR HER FOR BEING ABLE TO FEND OFF THE INTRUDER!!!! PLUS HE SHOULD'VE KNOWN THAT IF A WOMAN IS BIGGER THAN YOU AND IT LOOK LIKE SHE AIN'T GOT NOTHING TO LOSE, WELL THAT MIGHT BE A HINT AND A HALF ON YO ASS TO ROLL OUT BEFORE YOU GET YO PUNK ASS CAUGHT UP IN THAT BULLSH*!
SHOUT OUT GOES OUT TO WIFEY FOR FENDING OFF THE "BAD GUY" AS FAR AS THE HUSBAND "HE AIN'T SH*!" IF THEY GIVE HIM LIFE THEN SO BE IT!!! WE MEN HAVE TO STAND UP, BASICALLY, IF YOUR GIRL, FIANCEE OR WIFE WANTS TO CALL IT "QUITS" THEN SO BE IT, THAT'S WHAT IT IS RIGHT NOW, YOU CAN'T PLOT TO KILL SOMEBODY CAUSE THEY DON'T WANNA BE WITH YO PUNK ASS NO MO!!!!!
*peeking through the curtain at audience still applauding* *comes back out for an encore*
@VH8611, Legendary Rebel, Ms. Mandy, Ms. Praline, Dallas Dyamond & HisNaughtyNess...Thank you, thank you, thank you all! They like me...they really like me! *wiping tear from corner of my eye*
Ya know, I'm a Thespian at heart....that's THES...not LES! Just don't want no confusion!
@Ms. Praline- Thank you for that PERFECT title...that certainly sums it ALL up! LMAO!
@Jaimejo- Forgot to ask....What is the Tiger Schoulman? I don't know what it is, but it sounds funny'r than a mofo!
@JERZEETHICKNEZ TIGER SCHOULMAN IS A SELF DEFENSE TAE KWON DOE PLACE HERE IN CT AND HE'S SUPPOSE 2 BE REALLY GOOD @ HELPIN WOMEN DEFEND THEMSELVES I'M GUESSIN SUSAN HAD HERSELF A COUPLE OF CLASSES THAT OR SHE JUST 2 DAMN FED UP W/ MIKE'S BS AND WAS JUST WAITIN 4 HIM OR NE1 2 STEP 2 HER SO SHE COULD UNLEASH THE DRAGON ALL OVER THEY A$$ES
"you send a b!tch at me, I send that b!tch back, cut up! I dont play dat pusssy sh!t. I done toldja boy. I'm a G-unit...mutha phuckin'...solja boy"
This reminded me of that song, from 50's first album(the only good one btw)
She should have pick the body up, took to her husbands job and dropped it right down at his feet and told him "try again sucka"
Damn that's what the hell he gets... Seriously though, the husband is an evil mofo to do such a thing he must have wanted her to suffer (getting beat to death, damn!) or the hitman was a fcuking crackhead and sold the gun the husband bought him, or they both just damn stupid (obviously) lol! I know this story is old but gangsta granny is reppin for big girls errwhere hahaha!
lmao @ jerzee and papamurf
There's got to be more to this story. It would be an extremely rare woman with the strength to choke out anyone much less at her age without jiu-jitsu or other martial arts training which was never mentioned in all this time by her or anyone else. Also, she's at a nursing convention just after killing someone? How many women you know would do that? Come on now.
