In the USA, a 53-year-old is said to have committed an almost unimaginable crime: his estranged wife reports that he kidnapped her, attacked her several times with a knife and then buried her alive. Among other things, her smartwatch is said to be responsible for her rescue.

In the United States, a woman is believed to have survived her husband’s attempted murder. As reported by the American TV broadcaster NBC News, citing the Sheriff of Thurston County in Washington State, the 53-year-old tied up his wife, attacked him several times with a knife and buried him alive. According to her own statements, the woman was first able to free her hands and then herself from the hole in the ground.

According to the report, the police found a desperate woman behind a shed on a property around 1 a.m. early Monday morning. “My husband is trying to kill me,” she is said to have shouted. At this point, she still had duct tape around her neck and ankles. Her legs, arms and head were said to be covered in bruises. She had dirt and soil on her clothes and in her hair.

The woman told police that she and her husband were arguing about divorce and money when he attacked her. Then he is said to have taped her eyes and mouth and fixed her hands with the duct tape behind her back. Her ankles and thighs were also glued together.

Despite her hands being tied, the woman was reportedly able to use her smartwatch to notify police and several acquaintances. Because her mouth was taped, she was not able to ask for help, it is said. The police drove to their house, which is about 60 kilometers southwest of Seattle, because they heard “choking and gagging noises”. The 53-year-old husband, meanwhile, is said to have destroyed the woman’s smartwatch with a hammer and drove her into a wooded area in the family’s car.

There the man is said to have dug a hole and stabbed the woman several times in the chest. He then dragged her into the grave, covered her body with branches and began to fill the hole with earth.

The woman believes she was buried alive for several hours before she was able to free her hands. After digging free, she ran for about 30 minutes, they say. Then she found the shed.

Her estranged husband was arrested a little later. He faces charges of kidnapping and attempted murder.