Right Or Wrong?

Was Susan Wright Pushed To The Edge When She Killed Her Husband?

(CBS)  This broadcast originally aired on July 23, 2005. It was updated on Dec. 26, 2007.

It’s hard to say what’s most horrifying: how Jeff Wright was killed, who killed him, or why she says she did it.

The woman accused of committing murder is Jeff’s wife, Susan, 27, a stay-at-home mother of two. “I did not want to die,” says Susan, who now faces life in prison.

”This was a brutal, terrifying, sadistic relationship that spanned years,” says Susan’s attorney, Neil Davis.

Susan Wright stabbed her husband 193 times. And Davis says he believes that Susan’s husband, Jeff Wright, triggered the attack that ended his life: “I hate to say it, but some people just deserve killing.”

That’s how a lot of Texas lawyers interpret self defense. But what makes this case different is that Susan and her lawyers are saying it on the record. “She had to kill or be killed,” says Davis.

Correspondent Richard Schlesinger reports.

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It wasn’t that long ago that Jeff, a successful carpet salesman, was smothering Susan with kindness. Susan was a waitress when they first met in 1997 on the beach in Galveston, Texas.

“He would call two or three times a day,” recalls Susan. “When he was around me, he would bring flowers and little gifts and stuff. He was very sweet.”

A year later, they married, and Susan was already eight months pregnant with their son, Bradley. “He wanted a house. He wanted a family and a dog, and it just seemed great,” says Susan, who says things were good until Bradley was born.

“Then, everything changed,” says Susan, who claims that Jeff became controlling and demanding. “Everything inside the house was my job, including Bradley, everything I needed to make everything perfect … Bradley needed to be clean and quiet all the time. The house had to be spotless, all the laundry done, all the cooking. It got to be pretty hard.”

Susan says Jeff would yell at her the few times she complained and says this was a side that he never showed her while they were dating. It wasn’t long, she says, before Jeff started beating her. It happened, she says, after Jeff had smoked pot.

“He threw me back against the wall and he grabbed me by my arms and shook me up against the wall and then punched me in the chest,” says Susan. “He made me feel like it was my fault, because I didn’t have a right to tell him not to touch his son.”

Susan’s sister, Cindy, a psychologist with a Ph.D., tried to intervene once, and moved her and the children to her parent’s house. But they only stayed there overnight. According to Susan, “a moving van showed up the next morning and took me back home.”

Why did she go back just a day after she was beaten? “I didn’t have a choice,” says Susan. “I was afraid of him, but as much as I was afraid of him, I loved him, and I wanted to be good enough to where things work.”

But things got worse, and there were more drugs and more abuse.

Jeff’s father, Ron Wright, says he knew his son had a drug problem, but that it was under control. He also says that the claims of physical abuse were all lies.

“She didn’t have any symptoms of being an abused woman,” says Ron Wright. “We don’t abuse women. We love our women.”

[pamelann1]

What? Were you her cell mate in prison? I can tell you for a fact that her childhood was no picnic. In the end she murdered my friend Jeff and she will not see the light of day for at least 12 years. That''s half of her sentence. You know they don''t let out a murderess because of prison crowding. She is one of the most violent woman in history. 193 times.
I wish all of us could get online and talk together without a posting board. I respect your opinions but not one of you has accepted any of my personal insite. We all have things to learn or face in our life. I''ve been doing this a day or so and I''m wore out.

[cvalentini-2009]

awsome01, I''m glad to finally see someone on here that knows Susan.

[asome01]

That woman is a victim of violence at some point in her life. She sleeps in the fetal position! Ive seen it first hand and have worked with her for almost 4 years.

[cvalentini-2009]

Like I said earlier Pamela, you don''t know what went on behind closed doors and you even admitted that.

[cvalentini-2009]

BetsyRoss you need a reality check!

[pamelann1]

Susan Wright made up being abused. Ron Sr & Ron Jr, were both called to the stand. The defense lawyer could have tried to tear them apart and chose NOT to because both Jeff''s father & brother are exemplory people and are in good standing in their communities. Ron Sr''s comment about "We love our women" was a poor choice of words but I know him and he just meant the men in the family love their wives. The man is nearly 80 yrs old by now. This just about killed him. He is keeping Jeff''s memory alive for all of us in his actions & words. He raised his children right! Wright.

[pamelann1]

Susan Wright made up being abused. Ron Sr & Ron Jr, were both called to the stand. The defense lawyer could have tried to tear them apart and chose NOT to because both Jeff''s father & brother are exemplory people and are in good standing in their communities. Ron Sr''s comment about "We love our women" was a poor choice of words but I know him and he just meant the men in the family love their wives. The man is nearly 80 yrs old by now. This just about killed him. He is keeping Jeff''s memory alive for all of us in his actions & words. He raised his children right! Wright.

[myrtis21]

to Pam and Val. Quit the arguing. This woman was terribly abused and I can see how it drove her over the edge. What makes me mad is to read Ron Wright''s comment "We love our women." Really. Why didn''t the defense ever call Ron Wright to the stand and ask him if he had ever abused his wife and children. Something went wrong for Jeff to be so abusive. I hope and pray that Susan will get a second trial and a much stronger defense, that the judge will set her free, and that she will get her children back.

[betsyross4]

CVALENTI-I WATCHED 48HRS.YOU SEEM LIKE A MURDER GROUPIE.

[betsyross4]

JEFF FANS? HOW LUDICRIS...SHE KNOWS THINGS THAT 99% OF US DO NOT KNOW. LEAVE THE KIDS OUT OF IT PLEASE. SHE IS NOT A FAN BUT SHE''S APPEARS TO BE SAD AND ANGRY. DON''T ANTAGONIZE ONE ANOTHER, THIS IS TO SHARE NOT TEAR OTHER PEOPLE DOWN.

[cvalentini-2009]

To all of you Jeff fans, I guess this couldv''e been another O.J. Simpson case, Laci Peterson, etc. Maybe you would be satisfied then.

[cvalentini-2009]

I know what I do from what was brought forth with the case. Seems like your the one that didn''t know everyting.

[pamelann1]

I am best friends with that family and you do not know what they have been through. Bradley & Kailey are loved so much. The venom in which you write your "comments" is repugnant. Don''t talk about things you know nothing about. Shame on you. Those children have been at their permanant residence since Susan was denied bail. 5 years now.

[cvalentini-2009]

Sorry hun, I know who my Lord and Savior is. I''ll be with him when it''s my time.

[pamelann1]

Go straight to hell.

[cvalentini-2009]

So the story sounds even more bogus to me, he caught an assault charge for slamming his fist and cracking a table. It doesn''t matter how good looking he was, still doesn''t make it right what he did to her. As far as the Jury, they were caught up on the ties, I don''t recall any of them saying that they didn''t believe that he beat her. It''s a *** shame that His brother got those children. God Bless Them.

[pamelann1]

That''s exactly what happend. Jeff did not put his fist through anything. Jeff slammed his fist and cracked the glass. It seems to me that people would be interested in knowing more about Jeff. Lastly, 48hrs showed Jeff at his heaviest weight and bad angled pictures. He was a very good looking, good hearted man. If you choose not to believe me that''s fine but like BetsyRoss4 said "the jury didn''t believe her" Susan would have been acquitted if her defense lawyer could''ve proved that he wasn''t tied to the bed. And as a footnote, Her lawyer quit immediately after the trial. Since then she has had a public defender and has lost all her appeals. The children could finally be formally adopted by their Aunt & Uncle.

[cvalentini-2009]

Pamelann1,let me guess, Jeff told you that''s all that happened with the assault charge that he caught. Right? Of course.

[cvalentini-2009]

BestyRoss4, are you serious, lets start with the assault charge that he caught from his ex-girlfriend. That proves that he''s hit a woman before. What about the bruises that Susan''s sister, friends, etc. saw on her? What about the friend that would stay over in the next room so Jeff wouldn''t beat her that night? What about the bruises that she still had a week later when she went to the police. He must have given her a hell of a beating that time, Right? What about the person that lives in their house right now that said there was alot of sheet rock repair done to the walls. He must of through her into the walls quite a few times. What about when her sister got Susan, her kids, and Susan''s stuff and brought them to her house. Why do you think she did that? Did you even watch the show or read the story? Or are you another friend of Jeff''s?

[cvalentini-2009]

Pamelann1, so he got an assault charge for putting his fist through a table, thats very hard to believe. I come from a family of police officers.