BETHLEHEM TOWNSHIP, Pa. – New details emerge in the gruesome killing of a woman in Northampton County. James Frank is charged with homicide after allegedly killing his wife inside their home in Bethlehem Township.
The Northampton County District Attorney told us the initial call for a welfare check on the 2100 block of 3rd St. came from Frank’s employer after he failed to show up for work on Monday and Tuesday.
Police made contact with him after trying to enter the house through a second-floor window when he refused to come to the door. That’s when he told investigators his wife was dead in the bathtub.
“It appeared that she had been dead for a number of hours. It was pretty clear that it had been many hours prior to the police response,” said Stephen Baratta, Northampton Co. District Attorney. “She had injuries that we could visually inspect. Some were to the chest area and injuries to her neck.”
Frank told police he slit his wife’s throat then stabbed her and hit her chest with a hammer about 10 times to make sure she was dead, the DA’s office said.
People in the neighborhood told us it was an act of evil.
“Killing like that? That’s cruel. He must’ve hated, there’s a lot of hate with someone like that,” said Roger Bercaw, who lives around the corner.
Al Miller has lived on 3rd Street for 55 years and told us he’s never heard of such a thing.
“It’s terrible you know. I don’t know what’s wrong with people today,” Miller said.
Frank was charged with homicide and is being held without bail. His motive for allegedly killing his wife is unclear. Baratta told us the pair were married in 2012.
The District Attorney’s Office is waiting on the final autopsy report.