Barrett
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PLYMOUTH — A Plymouth man surrendered to borough police, admitting he killed his wife with a fireplace poker in a rage of jealousy over the weekend, according to court records.
Daniel Barrett, 40, was charged with an open count of criminal homicide after borough police discovered the body of his wife, Mary Susan Barrett, in the basement of their home at 103 Gaylord Ave. on Monday.
Barrett told authorities he killed his wife after she told him she cheated on him with another man, court records say.
According to the criminal complaint:
Barrett walked into the Plymouth police station just after 5 p.m. Monday telling an officer he killed his wife and her body was inside their residence.
Police searched the house finding a blood trail from the living room near a fireplace, leading down a hallway and down basement stairs.
The body of Mary Barrett was found in the basement with a fireplace poker next to her, the complaint says.
During an interview with Police Chief Anthony Gorey and Luzerne County Det. Robert Lehman, Barrett admitted he killed his wife during an argument on Saturday.
Barrett told investigators his wife told him she had been spending time with another man and in return, Barrett punched her in the face knocking her to the floor, the complaint says.
Barrett claimed he “blacked out” and later realized he was standing over her body holding a tongs over his head.
Investigators in the complaint say Barrett struck his wife with a fire poker multiple times and when the poker became entangled in the body, he grabbed a knife and began stabbing her in the lower back, the complaint says.
Barrett could not tell investigators how many times he struck his wife but did recall striking her in the head.
When Barrett realized he injured his hand, he went to splash water on his face and heard a noise coming from his wife. Barrett dragged his wife to the basement near a basement window.
Barrett told investigators, according to the complaint, he realized someone could see the body through a window and moved his wife to another room in the basement.
Barrett slept on a couch on another floor and covered his wife with a blanket on Sunday, the complaint says.
Investigators say Mary Barrett’s teenage daughter, who lives in another county, received a text message from her mother’s cell phone Sunday morning stating the family dog was dying and had to be taken several hours away to be euthanized. Her daughter also received a phone call from Barrett at about 5 p.m. Monday saying he killed her mother because she cheated on him, the complaint says.
Investigators say Barrett sent the text message to the girl about the dog on Sunday.
Barrett told investigators he thought about fleeing or taking his own life. He also claimed he searched on the internet how to kill himself and for attorneys before turning himself in.
An autopsy by forensic pathologist Dr. Gary Seibert determined Mary Barrett died from blunt force trauma and the manner of death a homicide.
Barrett was jailed at the county correctional facility without bail.