Human Wreckage True Crime
Join us as we navigate the wreckage left behind by humanity’s darkest instincts.
Disturbing True Crime Stories, These include, murderers, kidnappings, serial killers. Solved and unsolved.
Human Wreckage True Crime
When Your Husband Hires a Hitman: Susan Kuhnhausen Case
Welcome to Human Wreckage, the true crime podcast, where we dive deep into the fractures of the human soul, where every story isn't just about violence but what's left behind the damage, the courage, the fallout, the fight to rise again. I'm Thomas, and in this episode we're starting with a story so unbelievable, so harrowing and so personal. It still sends chills down the spines of seasoned detectives. This is the story of Susan Kuhnhausen, a 51-year-old urn nurse from Portland, oregon, who came home one ordinary night to find a man waiting in the shadows, a man sent to kill her by someone she once promised to love forever. She'd worked a long shift that day, just like any other. She clocked out, drove home and unlocked the door to her modest house in Portland's Montevilla neighborhood. She expected quiet, maybe some leftover pizza, a phone call with a friend. What she got was a claw hammer to the head. But Susan was no ordinary target. She'd spent nearly three decades as an ER nurse on the front lines of trauma, chaos and life or death decisions. She knew how to stay calm under pressure, she knew anatomy, she knew pain and, most of all, she knew how to fight to survive. What happened in the next 14 minutes would change the course of her life forever.
Speaker 1:Before we get into the details of that brutal confrontation, let me take you back, because this story isn't just about what happened in that house. It's about who sent that man and why. It's about Michael Kuhnhausen, susan's husband of 17 years. By all accounts, michael was quiet, mild-mannered, an adult video store janitor who mostly kept to himself. But beneath that ordinary exterior was a man drowning in resentment, financial stress and years of emotional distance from the woman he had once married. Their marriage had been unraveling for years. Michael was controlling, emotionally withdrawn. Susan had finally reached her breaking point and filed for divorce. She changed the locks, took back her name, but what she didn't know was that Michael wasn't ready to let her go. He didn't beg her to come back, he didn't plead, he planned, and what he planned was her murder.
Speaker 1:Michael knew just where to find a man willing to kill. He turned to a former co-worker, edward Haffey, a convicted felon with a long criminal history and a heroin addiction. Michael offered him $50,000 to break into the house, wait in the shadows and beat Susan to death with a claw hammer. He even disabled the house alarm himself, ensuring Susan would walk straight into a trap. But what Michael didn't plan for was Susan fighting back. What he didn't count on was her using every ounce of her strength, training and fury to survive and survive. She did. Susan Kuhnhausen did what almost no one in her situation ever does she overpowered her attacker. She turned the tables, she took that hammer, she fought, she choked the man with her bare hands until he stopped moving, until he stopped breathing. When the police arrived, they found Susan bloodied, bruised, but alive, and Edward Haffey dead on the floor. What followed was a twist straight out of a psychological thriller. Detectives found a handwritten note in Haffey's backpack that said Call Mike. That Mike was Michael Kuhnhausen. Investigators quickly pieced the puzzle together and it didn't take long before Michael was arrested and charged with solicitation of aggravated murder. In court he didn't deny it, he pleaded guilty and in 2007, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison, but he didn't serve the full sentence. In 2014, michael Kuhnhausen died in prison from natural causes, just months before his scheduled release.
Speaker 1:Susan changed her name after the attack to distance herself from the man who tried to kill her. But she didn't fade quietly. She became an advocate for domestic violence. Survivors she learned to shoot. She took self-defense classes. Survivors she learned to shoot she took self-defense classes. She reclaimed her voice and told her story, not for pity, but to show others what survival looks like, what rage turned into power looks like, what human wreckage can become when you don't let it define you. The case of Michael Kuhnhausen is a stark reminder of the depths to which human desperation can sink. In 26, kuhnhausen orchestrated a murder for higher plot against his wife, susan Kuhnhausen, a dedicated emergency room nurse in Portland, oregon. This narrative delves into Michael's background, the events leading up to the crime, the aftermath and the broader implications of his actions.
Speaker 1:Michael Kuhnhausen was born in 1948. Details about his early life remain sparse, but by the mid-2000s he was working as a janitor at Fantasy Adult Video, an adult bookstore in Portland. His employment there would later play a pivotal role in the tragic events that unfolded. In 1988, michael married Susan Kuhnhausen, a dedicated emergency room nurse. The couple settled in a modest home in southeast Portland's Montevilla neighborhood. Over the years, their marriage faced challenges, including financial difficulties and personal differences. Despite these issues, the couple remained together, though their relationship had become strained.
Speaker 1:By 2006, michael and Susan were in the midst of a contentious divorce. Susan had named her brother as the beneficiary of her life insurance policy, a decision that did not sit well with Michael. Financial records revealed that Michael had lost his job weeks earlier and had no place to live. Desperate and facing the prospect of losing his home, michael concocted a plan to have Susan killed. He enlisted the help of Edward Dalton Haffey, a 59-year-old ex-convict with a criminal history that included robbery, burglary and conspiracy, to commit aggravated murder. Haffey had worked for Michael as a janitor at Fantasy Adult Video. Michael promised Haffey $50,000 to carry out the murder. To facilitate the plan, michael disarmed the security alarm at their home, allowing Haffey to enter undetected. On September 6, 2006, haffey entered the Kuhnhausen home and attacked Susan with a claw hammer. However, susan fought back fiercely, managing to disarm Haffey and strangle him to death in a desperate struggle for her life. When police arrived, they found Haffey dead and Susan severely injured but alive. Investigators soon uncovered the conspiracy orchestrated by Michael. They found notes in Haffey's backpack linking him to Michael, including a day planner entry that read Call Mike, get Letter. In August 2007, michael Kuhnhausen pleaded guilty to solicitation to commit aggravated murder. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison. However, he served only a portion of his sentence as he died from cancer in 2014, just months before his scheduled release.
Speaker 1:In a civil court case, susan Kuhnhausen sued her ex-husband for the trauma and damages caused by his actions. The jury awarded her over $1 million in damages, including $1 million in non-economic damages, while she did not expect to collect the full amount. The judgment served as a symbolic victory and a deterrent against future harm. The case of Michael Kuhnhausen serves as a stark reminder of the potential for violence that can exist within intimate relationships. It underscores the importance of recognizing signs of control and manipulation and taking steps to protect oneself. Susan's survival and subsequent actions demonstrate resilience and the power of the human spirit to overcome even the most harrowing circumstances. While Michael Kuhnhausen's life ended in prison and disgrace, his actions left an indelible mark on those involved. Susan Kuhnhausen's story continues to inspire and serve as a testament to the strength of individuals who refuse to be victims.
Speaker 1:Michael Kuhnhausen's descent into criminality and the subsequent events highlight the complexities of human behavior and the potential for darkness even in seemingly ordinary lives. And the potential for darkness even in seemingly ordinary lives. His story is a cautionary tale about the dangers of desperation and the lengths to which some will go when faced with personal and financial crises. Susan Kuhnhausen didn't just survive. She refused to be a victim, not of a hammer, not of fear, and not of the man who promised to love her. She turned a planned execution into a battle, and won, not by luck, not by miracle, but by instinct, rage and the kind of quiet strength forged in emergency rooms and hard-lived marriages. It's easy to think we'd all do the same in her shoes, but the truth is most don't walk away. Most don't have the training or the chance or the warning. Susan did, and she used every second of it to fight for her life. But what makes her story even more powerful isn't the physical survival. It's what she did after she changed her name. She reclaimed her voice. She told the truth over and over so others could see the danger hiding behind familiarity, so others might leave sooner. Speak louder, fight harder.
Speaker 1:We call this podcast Human Wreckage, not because people are broken, but because we all leave wreckage behind. Some of us rise from it, others cause it. Susan's story shows us what it looks like to rise. If this episode moved, you, share it. Leave a review, start a conversation you never know who's listening, who might need to hear that survival is possible. And if you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence. Please don't wait. Call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-7233. Help is always there. Next week, on Human Wreckage, we'll take you to a quiet suburb where a missing person case turned into something far more sinister and far more personal. Until then, stay aware, stay safe and remember. Sometimes the most dangerous person in your life is the one who used to say I love you. This is human wreckage. Thanks for listening.