Butterfly Cauldron
Friday, September 08, 2006
Then again, sometimes we fight back
In contrast to the tales below, I give you this lovely story of a woman who found herself in danger and well...read for yourself.
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A nurse returning from work discovered an intruder armed with a hammer in her home and strangled him with her bare hands, police said.
Susan Kuhnhausen, 51, ran to a neighbor’s house after the confrontation Wednesday night. Police found the body of Edward Dalton Haffey, 59, a convicted felon with a long police record.
Police said there was no obvious sign of forced entry at the house when Kuhnhausen, an emergency room nurse at Providence Portland Medical Center, got home from work shortly after 6 p.m.
Under Oregon law people can use reasonable deadly force when defending themselves against an intruder or burglar in their homes. Kuhnhausen was treated and released for minor injuries at Providence.
Haffey, about 5-foot-9 and 180 pounds, had convictions including conspiracy to commit aggravated murder, robbery, drug charges and possession of burglary tools. Neighbors said Kuhnhausen’s size — 5-foot-7 and 260 pounds — may have given her an advantage.
“Everyone that I’ve talked to says ’Hurray for Susan,’ said neighbor Annie Warnock, who called 911. “You didn’t need to calm her. She’s an emergency room nurse. She’s used to dealing with crisis.”
Not that I'm a fan of killing, but I keep a baseball bat next to my bed for just such occurances. If I have the chance, anyone who tries to hurt me will not be walking away unscathed. Plus, look at her -- not a young woman, doubtlessly taunted for being fat. Probably seemed like a good target. Oops?
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A nurse returning from work discovered an intruder armed with a hammer in her home and strangled him with her bare hands, police said.
Susan Kuhnhausen, 51, ran to a neighbor’s house after the confrontation Wednesday night. Police found the body of Edward Dalton Haffey, 59, a convicted felon with a long police record.
Police said there was no obvious sign of forced entry at the house when Kuhnhausen, an emergency room nurse at Providence Portland Medical Center, got home from work shortly after 6 p.m.
Under Oregon law people can use reasonable deadly force when defending themselves against an intruder or burglar in their homes. Kuhnhausen was treated and released for minor injuries at Providence.
Haffey, about 5-foot-9 and 180 pounds, had convictions including conspiracy to commit aggravated murder, robbery, drug charges and possession of burglary tools. Neighbors said Kuhnhausen’s size — 5-foot-7 and 260 pounds — may have given her an advantage.
“Everyone that I’ve talked to says ’Hurray for Susan,’ said neighbor Annie Warnock, who called 911. “You didn’t need to calm her. She’s an emergency room nurse. She’s used to dealing with crisis.”
Not that I'm a fan of killing, but I keep a baseball bat next to my bed for just such occurances. If I have the chance, anyone who tries to hurt me will not be walking away unscathed. Plus, look at her -- not a young woman, doubtlessly taunted for being fat. Probably seemed like a good target. Oops?
Labels: crime, domestic abuse
9 Comments:
This makes me much happier than it probably should, I have to say.
yeah, you know what: fuck sports corsets and grand unifying theories: what we need is to get in touch with our inner Kali.
i was gonna say, and WEAPONS, but regard! bare hands!! go, nurse!
Kali is absolutely one of my favorite goddesses. Actually, my pantheon is heavily weighted with kick-ass goddesses. Hrm....
Weight is an asset!
I don't think you can know what you're willing to do to defend yourself until you find yourself either doing it or having to decide whether do it. My mom used to say to just put the guy's eye out, but that takes determination I don't think most people have. (Even if you carry nail clippers or a small pair of scissors, one of which my mom gave me on prom night.)
Though I wasn't raised to be polite, I don't expect to know when trouble's brewing. I think a fight will be on before I know it's started.
It is important to listen to your fear. If you do that, the odds of being surprised go way down.
Women are capable of defending themselves. Females of all species that rear young not only protect their young but they are the ones who teach their young all they know about violence. Papa Bear and Daddy Tiger are not around, it is Mama who teaches both sons and daughters to kill. Human society works really hard to train that out of us, but in times of danger some women manage to remember it. We all need to let that strong, capable, care taking part out when appropriate.
Why did they weigh her?
Yeah, I was wondering about that. I'm assuming she probably had to go to the hospital to get checked out and they did it there. Otherwise, why would the police weigh her?
Amazing and inspiring! My feeling is, whatever you need to do to keep a man from assaulting you...
I'm all for fighting back. I'm still stunned by the fact she did this with her bare fricking hands!
or maybe she just had to write down her stats for the poliec report? shrug.
Post a Comment
<< Home