Man Attacks Wife With Fireplace Poker In Jealous Rage, Stashes Body In Basement

A man in Plymouth, Pennsylvania, killed his wife with a fireplace poker in a jealous rage, then stashed her body in the basement of their home for two days.

On Saturday, 40-year-old Daniel Barrett and his wife, Mary Susan Barrett, got into a heated argument near the fireplace of their home after the former accused the latter of cheating on him. As soon as the victim admitted to "spending time" with another man, the accused, in a fit of rage, punched the woman in the face, knocking her to the floor facedown.

He then bludgeoned her with a fire poker before picking up a knife and stabbing her multiple times in the lower back. When he went to wash his face, he heard his wife make a noise. Barrett then dragged her down to the basement and stashed her there. He then went back to the living room and slept on a couch. The following morning, Barrett wrapped her dead body with a sheet, local daily The Citizens' Voice reported.

On Monday evening, Daniel called Robert Atkinson, the father of his wife's teenage daughter, and told him that Mary had cheated on him and that he had killed her. Minutes later, Barrett showed up at the police station and surrendered himself.

Investigators reached the home and found a trail of blood from the living room to the basement. They followed the trail and found Mary lying on the floor, with a hole in her skull. They also found a fireplace poker beside her body.

Her body was taken for autopsy, the result of which revealed that she died from blunt-force trauma. The manner of death was confirmed as homicide. Following this, Daniel was charged with one count of criminal homicide. He was denied bail and being held at the Luzerne County Correctional Facility. He was set to appear in court on Jan. 20.

Mary was a U.S. Air Force veteran who retired in 2014. She married Daniel the following year. It wasn’t clear if the couple had children.