“I couldn’t stop st*abbing him; I couldn’t stop,” Susan Wright testified as she stood trial for the brutal mur*der of her husband Jeff. Susan had brutally st*abbed her husband 193 times before burying his body in the backyard.
Jeff and Susan Wright lived in Galveston, Texas, and were the proud parents of two kids. From the outside looking in, they appeared to be the perfect couple. From the inside looking out, however, Susan says the relationship was plagued by drug abuse, violence, and mental torture.
Instant Love Turned Tragic
Susan met Jeff in 1997 while she worked as a waitress at a local restaurant. The pair hit it off and married in 1998 when Susan was eight and one-half months pregnant with their first child. They had another child and spent the next six years living a lie, according to Susan.
Jeff frequently used hard drugs, namely cocaine, Susan claimed. He became angry and violent when he used drugs, often leading to physical and mental abuse toward his wife.
On January 13, 2003, Jeff smacked his 4-year-old son Bradley in a cocaine-induced rage. He beat Susan, raped her, and threatened to ki*ll her several times, Susan claimed.
Defending herself, Susan grabbed a knife and sta*bbed Jeff after she tied him up as he lay in their bed. After sta*bbing him once, she found it impossible to stop.
“I knew as soon as I stopped, he was going to get the knife back and he was going to k*ill me. I didn’t want to die.”
Jeff suffered 41 st*ab wounds to the face, 48 gashes to his body, and another seven injuries to his private area in addition to numerous other st*ab wounds across his body. Susan had thrust one of the knives into him so fiercely that the tip broke off in his skull.
After kil*ling Jeff, Susan wheeled his body outside in a wheelbarrel and buried his body in the backyard.
Dog Digs up Jeff’s Makeshift Grave
A week later, however, Susan had a change of heart. At least, that’s how she wanted officers to perceive the situation. In reality, Susan knew hiding Jeff’s body would be impossible. The family dog had already begun digging at the hole where she buried the body.
She phoned her lawyer and asked him to come to her home. A short time later, Galveston police received a phone call from the lawyer notifying them of a dead body in Susan’s yard. Susan admitted to sta*bbing her husband but claimed she did so in self-defense.
On January 24, police took Susan into custody on first-degree mur*der charges.
The Trial & Case Aftermath
At Susan’s trial, which began on February 24, 2004, and ended on March 3, 2004, prosecutors painted a picture of a woman who would stop at nothing to get her hands on Jeff’s $200,000 life insurance policy. They claimed she lured Jeff into the bedroom with the promise of sex, tied him up by the wrists and ankles, and then brutally sta*bbed him to de*ath.
The jury believed the prosecutors’ story and convicted Susan of her husband’s mu*rder. Prosecutors suggested a 55-year prison sentence, although she was sentenced to 25 years behind bars.
That sentence was shortened to 20 years after a 2008 appeal hearing. Jeff’s ex-fiancee testified at this trial, claiming Jeff had been abusive to her throughout their relationship. A judge reduced her sentence by five years.
Susan was paroled in December 2020 after serving 16 years of her sentence. Susan begged reporters, “Please dont do this to my family… I would just like a little privacy, please respect that.”
