Chuanying He, New Port Richey woman pours acid on her husband in an attempt to kill him one day before the pair were scheduled to appear at divorce hearing. Husband who had filed for divorce now remains in critical condition with severe burns.
A Florida woman is accused of intentionally attempting to murder a man after police say she poured acid onto the victim while he slept in bed at a New Port Richey residence earlier this week.
Chuanying He, 50, following her arrest on Thursday was charged with with attempted first-degree murder and aggravated battery, the New Port Richey Police Department said in a news release.
While the relationship between the victim and suspect was not revealed, police described the episode as as a ‘domestic’ incident.
A report via WFLA identified the victim as the woman’s husband with Detective David Crowell of the New Port Richey Police Department saying police had fielded previous disturbances at the residence.
‘It does look like we have been out there numerous times for verbal domestic,’ Detective David Crowell said. ‘It does not appear that any arrest was made. However, it does appear to be domestic issues at that residence.’
According to authorities, it was the victim’s wife who alerted them to what had happened.
‘Following the attack, the defendant barricaded the bedroom door and called 911 to report the incident,’ officers said, adding that ‘evidence gathered during the investigation indicates the act was premeditated.’
Notice of the calamity came after police were called to the residence on the 4500 block of Slippery Rock Road in New Port Richey on Thursday, 5 p.m.
Victim had filed for divorce from wife months earlier
Responding officers found a man trapped in the room ‘suffering from severe chemical burns.’
The victim screamed for help as a deputy removed wood and metal to get into the room the wife had barricaded.
The victim was airlifted to Tampa General Hospital, where he remained in critical condition at the time of the police department’s press release.
Investigators said Chuanying He, told deputies she poured sulfuric acid and chemicals on her husband to hurt him and that she tried to kill him several times.
Officers arrested the woman ‘without further incident’ and said it appeared the attack was isolated to the two people involved.
Police had yet to say what may have motivated the acid attack.
Of note, court records reveal the victim filing for divorce this past March. The couple was scheduled for a divorce hearing a day after the incident.
Of note, a divorce hearing involves a judge addressing specific legal issues, often related to temporary orders (child custody, support, finances) or resolving disagreements that haven’t been settled through negotiation, by reviewing evidence, questioning parties, and issuing formal, written orders that all parties must follow.
New Port Richey is a city of about 20,000 people located in the Tampa Bay area on Florida’s west coast.
