Man Fatally Shoots Wife With Crossbow 9 Days After Getting Married
A Philadelphia man fatally shot his wife with a high-velocity crossbow just nine days after they got married.
ABC 7 News reports that Paul Kuzan, 40, is charged in the death of his wife, Pamela Nightlinger, 42. Philadelphia police were called Sunday night around 9:30 p.m. to the crime. Kuzan has given a full confession.
Neighbor Margie Maldonado said she heard a banging on the door, and her son screamed for someone to get help. Nightlinger then came stumbling through the door bleeding profusely from a wound to her chest. She fell on the floor, gasping for air. Maldonado described the scene as “terrible.”
Nightlinger was transferred to a hospital, where she died a short time after.
Authorities say that moments before Kuzan shot his wife with a crossbow, the two had been arguing inside their home.
“He went and got his crossbow. He loaded it. She was sitting in a chair. He fired one time,” Philadelphia Police Captain James Clark said. “It was a very high-velocity bow.”
He reportedly stood naked in the doorway as his wife stumbled into a neighbors home and collapsed in her own blood https://t.co/Ab4x6jpSxB
— New York Post (@nypost) June 28, 2016
Clark said the arrow entered Nightlinger’s chest, traveled through the chair, and got stuck in a wall. Somehow, Nightlinger managed to run to a neighbor, who alerted police.
Police arrived on the scene and took him into custody.
Philly gives a little more in-depth information on the man who shot his wife with a high-velocity crossbow.
Kuzan had exposed himself a week before killing his wife, according to the site. He walked naked to a business center across the street from his house, disrupting a mixed martial arts facility. In an unsettling turn of events, he then walked to nearby Anointed Hands Child Development Center and attempted to get inside. Day care center owner, Christina Humphrey, said “he was going to kill everyone and not even the kids would be safe. I was horrified.”
Humphrey said even after Kuzan’s wife got him back inside the house, she feared if nothing happened that day, it would eventually.
After shooting victim made her way to Maldonado’s residence, the neighbor recalled how crazy Kuzan was acting.
“He was saying crazy things, things that didn’t make any sense,” Maldonado said. “And then he went back in his house like nothing happened.”
Soon after that, responding officers arrested Kuzan in his home.
Captain Clark said Kuzan surrendered and confessed his crime to officers.
Kuzan was charged with homicide and related offenses.
Neighbors describe Nightlinger as “sweet,” “quiet,” and “humble.” She died at Aria Health-Torresdale Campus at 10:34 p.m. Sunday.
A motive for Kuzan shooting his wife with a crossbow hasn’t been revealed. According to the report, it’s unclear to authorities why he’d turn to using the weapon against his new bride.
No other weapons were found inside the couple’s house.
Neighbors said Kuzan’s behavior had gotten more bizarre in recent weeks. Prior to that, he was seen as a grumpy man who complained about cars blocking his driveway. Maldonado said he’d even told her recently that he got married and was “happy.” As of Sunday night, that changed when he started saying Nightlinger was “evil” and “the devil.” Maldonado said Nightlinger was a very “humble person.”
Man fatally shoots wife with high-velocity crossbow after nine days of marriage: Police https://t.co/OjZkR5izOg
— TheBlaze (@theblaze) June 28, 2016
Another neighbor recalled Kuzan yelling,”‘I’m a criminal, I’m going to kill you!’ ” and a third neighbor saying he heard Kuzan yell, “‘I killed her!'”
Nightlinger’s ex-husband and father of her two daughters, Jim Nightlinger, said Kuzan was “not stable.” Kuzan would even text Jim pretending to be his ex-wife. Jim also said Kuzan threatened him if he used his driveway to pick up or drop off his kids.
“This guy was a pot ready to boil over,” Jim said of Kuzan.
[Image via Shutterstock]
