Palm Coast, FL - Flagler County Sheriff's Office (FCSO) says that a man rigged the front door of a home in Palm Coast in an attempt to electrocute his estranged, pregnant wife.
Deputies responded to a home on White Hall Dr. in Palm Coast on Tuesday after a man reported that his son-in-law, 32-year-old Michael Scott Wilson, made suspicious statements to his own wife about not letting their child touch the front door of the home because he did not want the child getting hurt, according to FCSO reports.
When deputies arrived, they found that the front door appeared to barricaded, and they noticed burn marks near the door handle. One deputy kicked the door open, causing a spark to be ignited. The door had electrical devices rigged to the top door lock and lower door handle, potentially causing serious bodily injury or death to anyone who opened it.
Wilson had been staying with family in Knoxville, Tennessee since he and his wife were estranged, according to reports. The two have one child together, and the wife is pregnant with another child. FCSO says that Wilson had come back to the Palm Coast home and "booby-trapped" the door in order to electrocute his wife.
"The scary thing about this is, he rigs this thing up, and anybody could have walked up to that door. It could have been a child," says Chief Investigative Officer Steve Brandt.
When deputies investigated further and interviewed the family, they found some "love letter style sticky notes" lying on the bed, along with a photo album that was opened to a page with a picture of Wilson and his wife. FCSO says Wilson stole a firearm that his wife's step-father had given her for protection.
According to FCSO reports, on Wednesday, deputies discovered a Facebook account they believe to be Wilson's. That account had the profile status changed to "widowed."
Wilson was located at about 12:30 PM on Thursday in Knoxville, Tennessee and taken into custody. Wilson is charged with two counts of attempted aggravated battery on a pregnant person and one count of grand theft of a firearm. He is being held on $150,000 bond and will be extradited to the Flagler County Detention Facility to face charges. When he was arrested, officials also charged him with possession of drugs.
No one was injured by the rigged device. “This is one of the most bizarre domestic violence cases I have seen in my career,” Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly says. “Not only did this man plan to electrocute his wife, but he could have injured a deputy or any person attempting to enter this residence. Thankfully this man was found and taken into custody before he could cause the harm he intended.”
(Michael Scott Wilson)
All photos courtesy FCSO.
Copyright Southern Stone Communications 2017.
