It was September 6th on the calendar. It was a busy autumn day in Portland, Oregon. Susan Kuhnhausen, 51, was returning home from Providence Hospital, where she worked as a nurse in the emergency department. She dropped by the salon and joked with the hairdresser that she needed a new hair color, as she was going through a difficult divorce.
Susan Kuhnhausen.
Susan arrived home at about 18:37 pm, taking off her shoes, she was ready to relax until the end of the evening. The house was eerily dark. Susan was sure that in the morning, before going to work, she parted all the curtains. She didn't think about it at first. However, after a few moments, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a man. He appeared as a shadow in her bedroom. He brandished a red and black hammer and rushed to Susan.
The intruder hit Susan in the head and face, but by some miracle she was able to bite him. “If I die, I want it to be known that I was fighting for my life,” she said. Struggling, they fell to the floor.
“You are strong,” said the stranger. But how strong Susan, he could not even imagine … after a few moments, Susan managed to climb onto him and press him to the floor.
“Tell me who sent you and I'll call a fucking ambulance!” She shouted. "I'll call your mother!" But Susan did not receive an answer. When the intruder tried to throw Susan off him, she tightened her grip until he died down. She strangled him to death.
Susan fled to a neighboring house, from which 911 was called: “We have an intruder in the next house … The intruder was in the bedroom with a hammer. The woman who lives there thinks she strangled him. “He was downstairs when she left,” Susan's neighbor told the 911 operator.
Annie Warnock is the roommate who called 911.
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As Susan lay in the same emergency room where she has worked as a nurse for the past 30 years, she wondered if her out-of-house husband Michael Kuhnhausen could have been involved in this assassination attempt on her life.
Michael and Susan.
Michael and Susan were in divorce proceedings and, according to the testimony, "her husband was upset, but she insisted on a divorce."
When news of the attack spread through the media, Michael wrote a suicide note and bought a gun. He had not contacted his adult children for over a week before asking if they could help him register with a mental institution. When the police eventually got to him, he claimed that he had not contacted his wife after the attack because he learned that she had survived. His behavior was, of course, strange and somewhat surprising.
Susan Kuhnhausen after the assassination attempt.
The man who attacked Susan was identified as Edward Dalton Huffy, and initially the police believed that the man was just a burglar who chose the wrong house. Susan laughed at this theory because the man wasn't trying to steal anything or even ask her where the money or valuables were. He hid in the dark, waiting for her to return home. She was his only target. “He came to kill me,” said Susan. "I do not know why. I don't know who he is. But his intentions were clear."
After a thorough investigation, Susan's suspicions were confirmed: Michael hired Huffy as a hitman. According to an affidavit filed by the Multnomah County District Office, Huffy once worked as Michael's custodian at an adult video store. Huffy was so addicted to crack and desperate for money that he could easily commit murder. In Huffy's backpack, the police found a note: "Call Mike." Michael was arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit murder.
Susan appears in court.
Susan and Michael broke up in 2006 when Susan got up enough courage to kick Michael out of the house over his anger and anxiety. She had lived in fear for too long. At first Michael tried desperately to make up, but Susan refused. This heartache then turned into revenge, and Michael began to look for the hitman to take revenge on her. Three people turned down his offer before he approached Huffy.
After the attack, Susan was declared a hero. However, she accepted the title with a pinch of salt: "How can you be a hero when you take someone's life?" she said sadly.
Susan described herself as "a middle-aged woman in poor condition with sore knees." However, at this terrible moment, Susan decided to live.
Michael Kuhnhausen pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit murder and was sentenced to 10 years in prison. After her sentencing, Susan sued her ex-husband for $ 1 million, claiming she wanted to make sure he didn't have enough money to hire another hitman to "finish the job."
Michael pleaded guilty in court.
But in 2014, Michael died of natural causes in prison. While Susan was relieved by the news, she said, “I do not mourn his death. Instead, I mourn the life he could have had if only he could open his heart to those of us who cared for him."
Sometimes, out of a big resentment against a person, people are ready to make wrong decisions or commit terrible actions with grave consequences, primarily for themselves. You need to let go of grievances from the heart, do not intersect with the person who, as you think, hurt you, live a new life without turning back. It will be better for everyone.