51-Year Old Woman Strangles Hit Man Hired to Kill Her

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - Portland Police say the estranged husband of the woman who killed an intruder with her bare hands has been accused of hiring him to kill her.

Michael Kuhnhausen, 58, was charged Thursday with criminal conspiracy to commit murder and attempted murder.

Detectives say Kuhnhausen let Edward Haffey into Susan Kuhnhausen's house. Detectives say he waited for Susan Kuhnhausen with a claw hammer to arrive home from her nursing job.

Haffey struck her several times. According to a court affidavit obtained by The Oregonian newspaper, she managed to take the hammer away. The intruder bit Kuhnhausen several times. She bit back.

Finally, the 51-year-old woman was able to choke the life out of him. Portland Police found the 59-year-old Haffey dead on the floor. Susan Kuhnhausen told homicide detectives she believed her husband was involved.