Two days after a Chester County woman was granted a protection from abuse (PFA) order, her husband raped her and attacked and terrorized both she and her cousin, according to investigators.
"This is a classic and terrifying case of domestic abuse, with violence masquerading as love," said District Attorney Tom Hogan in a statement about the Valentine's Day attack.
The victim was granted the temporary PFA Friday after her husband threatened her with a knife, Hogan said. She changed the locks in her West Nottingham home and her cousin stayed overnight with her for protection.
Sunday morning, Hogan says the husband -- armed with a butcher knife -- kicked in the front door. He stabbed the victim's cousin twice in the chest, sliced him in the face with a box cutter and beat him with a wooden statue, according to police. He choked his wife until she became disoriented and threatened that every time she spoke, he would stab her cousin again, according to police.
During the attack, the wife was able to call 911 and hide her cell phone with the line open.
Police say the attacker raped his wife and was threatening to kill her, the cousin and then himself when state troopers arrived.
"Unfortunately, we have seen over and over again that the time of greatest danger for a woman is the exact moment when she is separating herself from her partner," said Deputy District Attorney Michelle Frei, the county's lead prosecutor for domestic violence cases.
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The victim and her cousin were hospitalized. He needed surgery for his stab wounds and was in stable but serious condition three days after the attack.
The husband, who we are not naming to protect the identity of the rape victim, was charged with rape, attempted murder and related charges.
