Recently, a 36-year-old woman from Burien was charged with attempted second-degree murder/domestic violence for allegedly attacking her husband in his sleep with a knife.

According to prosecutors, police records say the woman stabbed the man in the neck with a butcher knife while he slept on a couch and then slashed her own wrist. The wound to the man reportedly caused damage to his carotid artery, leaving him in serious condition.

Court documents detail that the woman had a complex relationship with her victim. The two, apparently coworkers, began an affair in 2010. The woman, who is married, reportedly told her husband about the affair in July. In early October, the victim apparently met someone while travelling in Cambodia and the two planned to marry. In reaction to this, the woman attempted to commit suicide by overdosing on an unidentified medication.

The man reportedly returned from his trip to Cambodia a couple days before the attack. After arriving, he met with the woman and her husband, and the latter told his wife to choose between the two men. Though she initially chose to be with her coworker, she went to her husband's home the following day and said she changed her mind. After receiving an unwelcome response from her husband, the woman decided to leave with her coworker. The two reportedly spent the night together in the apartment of the woman's sister. The next morning is when the attack reportedly happened.

The woman is now being held in a psychiatric unit at King County Jail in place of $1 million bail. Her arraignment is set for November 8.

Domestic violence can involve complex relationships, and a lot of emotions. It is lucky, in this case, that nobody died.

Source: Seattle Times, "Burien love triangle ends in an attempted murder charge," Sara Jean Green, October 27, 2011.