Pennsylvania Man Rigs Staircase With Tripwire Allegedly To Kill Wife, Arrested

KEY POINTS

His wife tripped on the wire while heading to the basement to bring something from a freezer
She initially thought the wire was part of carpeting that came loose only to find out that it wasn't
The man was charged with several felonies, including attempted homicide

In a bizarre incident, a Pennsylvania man allegedly plotted to kill his wife by rigging a staircase inside their home with a tripwire, but she managed to escape a near-fall.

William Joseph Dankesreiter Jr., 60, of Westmoreland County, allegedly installed a fishing line at the top of a flight of stairs leading to their basement in hopes that his wife, Laura, trips on it and falls to her death.

Laura was heading to the basement to get something from a freezer for breakfast on Oct. 3 when she tripped on the wire but was able to catch herself before tumbling down the stairs, KDKA-TV reported.

"If she had fallen, there were about 10 steps she would have fallen down and there is a small landing area. And then another few steps, she would have been landing on concrete. I can only imagine how catastrophic her injuries would be," Pennsylvania State Police trooper Stephen Limani told the station.

Cops arrived at the couple’s Caldwell Lane home after Laura reported about finding the tripwire, TribLive reported, citing court documents. Laura told investigators she initially thought the wire was a part of carpeting that sprang up and retrieved scissors to eliminate it but noticed that the wire was secured with two metal eye hooks on either side of the doorway, which held it about three inches above the carpet.

According to the court documents, William, who was not at home when cops were called, arrived as the officers spoke with Laura. He was arrested and was charged with attempted homicide, aggravated assault, simple assault and reckless endangerment. William was being held at the Westmoreland County Prison with a $500,000 bail bond. It was not clear if William had obtained an attorney.

Laura told investigators that it wasn’t the first time her husband attempted to kill her, according to KDKA-TV. "It was obviously thought through,” Limani told the station. “I don’t know how long he was thinking this through. You could definitely see there was a line tied across. There was nothing accidental about this."

Laura has filed a protection from abuse order from her husband. Police are working to find out a motive behind the alleged attempt of murder.