Susan Kuhnhausen's life was forever changed in September 2006.
What started as a normal day turned into a fight for survival when Susan faced a deadly threat inside her own home.
This is the incredible story of a woman who fought back against an attacker hired to kill her.
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| Susan Kuhnhausen |
Life Before the Attack: The Marriage That Went Wrong
At 51, Susan Kuhnhausen was a seasoned healthcare professional.
She worked as an emergency room nurse at Providence Portland Medical Center, where she was used to managing crises in the ER.
She had seen it all—patients in extreme pain, gunshot victims, people battling life-threatening conditions.
Yet, nothing could have prepared her for the deadly encounter that awaited her at home on September 6, 2006.
Susan and her estranged husband Mike Kuhnhausen had been married for 18 years.
Sadly, their relationship deteriorated over the years.
Their marriage was marked by petty arguments and a complete loss of intimacy.
By 2005, Susan had had enough.
She asked Mike to move out and began the process of rediscovering her own happiness.
But there was one crucial mistake she made.
She didn’t change the locks or the security code at home after Mike moved out.
That decision would soon come back to haunt her.
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| Susan and Micheal Kuhnhausen |
The Deadly Encounter: When a Quiet Evening Turned into a Fight for Her Life
On September 6, 2005, Susan started her day as usual and went to work.
After work that day, she went to get her hair done before heading back to her home.
As she entered her house around 6:30 PM, she found a note from her estranged husband, Mike Kuhnhausen.
The note said that he had gone to the beach to relax and would return over the weekend.
Little did Susan know, a far more sinister plan was unfolding.
As Susan entered her bedroom that night, she noticed something was off.
The curtains were drawn, making the room unusually dark.
Before she could react, a man jumped out from behind the door and attacked her with a claw hammer.
Susan's training as an ER nurse immediately kicked in.
She had learned self-defense techniques during her career.
Though the attacker managed to land a blow to her head, Susan fought back with everything she had.
Using a technique called “crowding,” she stayed close to him.
This prevented him from gaining enough momentum to swing the hammer effectively.
The man was later identified as Ed Haffey.
He was a Vietnam vet with a lengthy criminal past.
Though he was armed and determined, Susan was not willing to be an easy target.
Susan used her size and strength to her advantage.
She slammed her body against him in a desperate attempt to overpower him.
After about 15 minutes of a violent struggle Susan managed to wrestle the hammer away from Haffey.
She then used it to strike him several times in the head which destabilised him.
In a final act of desperation, Susan climbed on top of Haffey and wrapped her arm around his neck in a chokehold.
She screamed at him, demanding to know who had sent him.
But Haffey refused to answer.
With one last squeeze, Susan cut off his air supply.
When she saw he had lost consciousness, she fled the house and ran to a neighbor's home for help.
Unraveling the Mystery: Who Was Ed Haffey?
When the police arrived, they found Haffey dead in Susan’s home.
A subsequent investigation uncovered his long criminal history.
Haffey had been convicted of conspiracy to commit aggravated murder in 1994 and had served time in prison.
He had also been linked to the disappearance and murder of a former girlfriend in the 1990s.
Further investigation revealed more shocking details.
Ed Haffey had been hired by none other than Mike Kuhnhausen, Susan’s estranged husband.
Mike, who had recently lost his job and was essentially homeless, stood to gain a lot financially from Susan's death.
Even though Susan had removed him as the beneficiary of her life insurance policy, Mike still saw an opportunity in the couple’s $300,000 home.
If Susan were dead, he would inherit the property.
Mike had offered Haffey $50,000 to kill Susan.
Haffey, desperate and living in a dilapidated trailer, agreed to the job.
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| Susan Kuhnhausen on the day of the incident |
A Desperate Man’s Plot Unfolds: The Investigation into Mike Kuhnhausen
The day after the attack, while helping Susan collect her belongings, a friend found a backpack in the basement.
Inside the bag, investigators found Ed Haffey’s daybook.
It contained an entry that read “Call Mike.”
Also, there was an envelope in the bag that had Mike’s phone number written on it.
The evidence was clear: Mike had orchestrated the entire plot.
Despite the overwhelming evidence, Mike initially denied involvement.
He claimed that he was at the beach when the attack occurred.
However, police quickly saw through his lies.
Security records showed that the house alarm had been disabled while Susan was still at work, and Mike was the one who disarmed it.
Several witnesses also came forward, including one of Haffey’s former cellmates.
The cellmate revealed that Mike had tried to recruit him for the murder as well.
Five days after the attack, Mike was found in a hospital parking garage.
He claimed he was checking himself in for mental health treatment.
He had left a suicide note for his father, filled with self-pity.
However, he did not go through with the act.
He was arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit murder.
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| Mike Kuhnhausen |
Justice Served: Mike Kuhnhausen’s Downfall
In the end, Mike Kuhnhausen's plan to have his wife killed backfired spectacularly.
Susan’s strength and resourcefulness not only saved her life but also brought justice to a man who had betrayed her in the worst possible way.
Mike pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit murder in 2007.
He was ultimately sentenced to 10 years in prison.
He died in prison in 2014.
For Susan, the physical and emotional scars of that night remain, even though she emerged from the ordeal a survivor.
Her story is one of courage.
It is also a reminder that sometimes the greatest battles are fought not with weapons, but with the sheer will to live.
Though Susan’s marriage ended in horror, her life did not.
She became a living proof that even in the darkest moments, the human spirit can prevail.
In the years following the attack, Susan focused on healing—emotionally and physically.
She remained a dedicated nurse, caring for others while continuing to rebuild her own life.
Her story shows that sometimes, survival is not just about escaping danger but fighting back with everything she had.
In a similar case, a man was sentenced to 35 years after he killed his wife, then tried to hide her remains using acid.
Click here for more details on that case.
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