Abandoned wife sinks fisherman: Charged in murder by van after spat goes
out of control
By Casey Ross
Boston Herald
Thursday, August 19, 2004

After being abandoned on a fishing trip, an enraged Palmer woman
killed her husband by running him down with a minivan and then driving
over his body five times as horrified neighbors looked on, prosecutors
and witnesses said.
``The third time she ran over him it was like she was hitting a rag
doll,'' said a shaken Gloria Kimbell, 51, who watched the bloody
confrontation from her window. ``It was like he wasn't even a human
being anymore.''
Starleen Rutkowski, 46, was charged with murder yesterday after she
allegedly gave a taped confession to police. Prosecutors said she
snapped on her husband, Richard Rutkowski, after he left her alone
during their fishing trip to a local pond and came home laughing at her
rage.
Rutkowski stood expressionless in a tie-dyed T-shirt and sunglasses
yesterday while a not guilty plea was entered on her behalf in Palmer
District Court. She was ordered held without bail.
Hampden County prosecutor Timothy Rogers said Rutkowski leaned
against her white 1999 Dodge Caravan after running over her husband and
began yelling at neighbors.
``Yeah, you saw me running him over, but you don't know the whole
story,'' Rogers quoted Rutkowski as saying.
Rogers said the bloody killing occurred after Richard Rutkowski
returned home from fishing and found that his wife had thrown his
clothes and belongings out of their third-floor apartment.
When Richard Rutkowski began laughing, his wife went berserk,
screaming threats as the argument spilled into the parking lot.
Neighbors said Starleen Rutkowski got in her minivan and hit her
husband head on, causing him to fly against the windshield and fall hard
to the pavement.
``I saw her hit him five more times,'' said Kimbell, whose hands
shook as she described the scene. ``When she didn't hit him going
backwards, she would go forward. It was awful.''
Friends and neighbors said the flash of brutal violence seemed to
come out of nowhere for the Rutkowskis, who met in Utah and lived there
for several years before moving to Palmer last year. Local police also
said they had no run-ins with the couple.
A man who described himself as Richard Rutkowski's best friend said
the couple had been married four or five years and never showed signs of
problems.
``I'd never known him to be in love the way he was with her,'' said
Bob LaPlant. ``He was always holding her hand and praising her. I don't
understand this.''

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Abandoned wife sinks fisherman: Charged in murder by van after spat goes
out of control
By Casey Ross
Boston Herald
Thursday, August 19, 2004

After being abandoned on a fishing trip, an enraged Palmer woman
killed her husband by running him down with a minivan and then driving
over his body five times as horrified neighbors looked on, prosecutors
and witnesses said.
``The third time she ran over him it was like she was hitting a rag
doll,'' said a shaken Gloria Kimbell, 51, who watched the bloody
confrontation from her window. ``It was like he wasn't even a human
being anymore.''
Starleen Rutkowski, 46, was charged with murder yesterday after she
allegedly gave a taped confession to police. Prosecutors said she
snapped on her husband, Richard Rutkowski, after he left her alone
during their fishing trip to a local pond and came home laughing at her
rage.
Rutkowski stood expressionless in a tie-dyed T-shirt and sunglasses
yesterday while a not guilty plea was entered on her behalf in Palmer
District Court. She was ordered held without bail.
Hampden County prosecutor Timothy Rogers said Rutkowski leaned
against her white 1999 Dodge Caravan after running over her husband and
began yelling at neighbors.
``Yeah, you saw me running him over, but you don't know the whole
story,'' Rogers quoted Rutkowski as saying.
Rogers said the bloody killing occurred after Richard Rutkowski
returned home from fishing and found that his wife had thrown his
clothes and belongings out of their third-floor apartment.
When Richard Rutkowski began laughing, his wife went berserk,
screaming threats as the argument spilled into the parking lot.
Neighbors said Starleen Rutkowski got in her minivan and hit her
husband head on, causing him to fly against the windshield and fall hard
to the pavement.
``I saw her hit him five more times,'' said Kimbell, whose hands
shook as she described the scene. ``When she didn't hit him going
backwards, she would go forward. It was awful.''
Friends and neighbors said the flash of brutal violence seemed to
come out of nowhere for the Rutkowskis, who met in Utah and lived there
for several years before moving to Palmer last year. Local police also
said they had no run-ins with the couple.
A man who described himself as Richard Rutkowski's best friend said
the couple had been married four or five years and never showed signs of
problems.
``I'd never known him to be in love the way he was with her,'' said
Bob LaPlant. ``He was always holding her hand and praising her. I don't
understand this.''

--
Save America - Defeat Bush!

She learned that trick from Harry Krause.