Published January 09, 2010

Wife accused of vengeance against man

The Olympian

OLYMPIA - A woman angry that her husband left her is accused of
tampering with his power tools so that when he tried to use his table
saw Jan. 1, he received a powerful electrical shock and was "knocked
to the ground," court records state.

Carolyn Paulsen-Riat, 33, was booked Friday into the Thurston County
Jail after her arrest on suspicion of one count of third-degree
assault, domestic violence, and two counts of second-degree malicious
mischief. She has no prior criminal record, court papers state.

According to court papers:

After the man was shocked in his wife’s home in the 2700 block of 45th
Avenue in Olympia, he confronted her and she “told him that she had
tampered with his tools by switching the positive and negative leads
on his tools to intentionally harm him.”

The man, who works as a carrier for the U.S. Postal Service, told
investigators with the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office that the table
saw carried 220 volts. The “arch from the plug adapter knocked him
into some boxes located along the wall of the work shop,” he told
authorities.

Reports do not suggest that the man was badly hurt, and he did not
need to go to the hospital, Thurston County sheriff’s Sgt. Cheryl
Stines said.

When detectives spoke with Paulsen-Riat, “she admitted that she had
crossed the wires on (his) power tools on September 28, 2009, because
she was angry with him for leaving.”

The husband told detectives that Paulsen-Riat also had destroyed his
vintage Da Vinci accordion, valued at about $5,000, and an antique
tool chest valued at about $3,000. A deputy seized Paulsen-Riat’s 9 mm
semi-automatic pistol while investigators were at the residence.

A Thurston County Superior Court judge released Paulsen-Riat from jail
Friday on her own recognizance, meaning she did not have to post bail.
Paulsen-Riat could not be reached for comment Friday.

http://www.theolympian.com/southsoun...y/1095527.html