Man Stabbed Estranged Wife With Butcher Knife: Bucks Co. DA

BUCKS COUNTY, PA — A Bristol man admitted stabbing his estranged wife with a butcher knife during an attack in August, officials in Bucks County said.

Walter Joseph Vandoren Jr., 44, of Bristol Township pleaded guilty Wednesday to attempted homicide and related charges.

According to information from the Bucks County District Attorney's office, which prosecuted the case, Bristol Borough police were dispatched to the 200 block of Buckley Street the morning of Aug. 3 after receiving 911 calls about a domestic assault. Callers said the victim was screaming for help.

When officers arrived, they found Vandoren holding a knife while on top of his estranged wife.

Officers stopped the attack and took Vandoren into custody. The victim was bleeding profusely from multiple stab wounds and was rushed to the hospital for emergency surgery, the District Attorney said.

The victim's 8-year-old daughter was present at the time of the attack, prosecutors said. The victim was in critical condition for two weeks following the attack.

The investigation found that the victim was separated from Vandoren for a year, and she had an active Protection from Abuse order against him. In the days prior to the attack, Vandoren had been sending angry texts to her for several days until she blocked his number, prosecutors said.

On the day of the stabbing, the victim was outside with a friend when Vandoren jumped the fence, chased her, punched open a window and unlocked the door to her home. The pair tried to escape by climbing to the roof and through an upstairs window. Vandoren went after the friend until the friend fell off the roof and injured himself, prosecutors said.

The victim then tried to hide inside her house, but Vandoren eventually returned, pushed in an air conditioning unit, and climbed inside. He was armed with a butcher knife at the time.

Vandoren's sentencing was deferred to a later date.