ALAMEDA, Calif. (AP) - A 79-year-old man who suspected his younger wife was having an affair hacked at her with a meat cleaver Tuesday and nearly chopped off her right hand, police said.
The suspect was being held in an Alameda jail on suspicion of attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon. His name was not immediately released.
A hysterical girl called police Tuesday morning and said that her father had gone crazy and lopped off her mother's hand, police said.
The suspect allegedly struck his 54-year-old wife in the head and face with the cleaver, leaving deep cuts. He chopped off her right index finger and nearly severed her hand.
The 17-year-old daughter was cut on her left thumb trying to stop her father from hitting his mother, police Lt. Robert Cranford said.
The mother was taken to Highland Hospital in Oakland for surgery and the daughter was taken to Alameda Hospital for stitches.
Alameda's an odd place. Some parts of it are like a trendy neighborhood in San Francisco. Some parts are like a small town in the 1950s. And some parts are like a trailer park.