A Pennsylvania man allegedly turned a marital meltdown into a demolition project after his wife told him the relationship was over.
Police say he then fired up an excavator and tore into the family home while she and their two daughters were still inside.
Erik Pierwsza, 48, was arrested Tuesday after authorities said he used a Kubota excavator to rip apart the back of a house in Sarver following a heated argument with his wife.
According to a criminal complaint cited by CBS News, the confrontation began after Pierwsza came home from drinking and got into a fight with his spouse.
His wife told investigators that she informed him their marriage was “done.”
Authorities say Pierwsza fired back with a threat he allegedly carried out moments later. “If it’s over, I’ll tear the house down,” he allegedly shot back.
Police said he then climbed into the excavator and began smashing the back of the home while his wife and daughters were still inside.
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Photos from the scene appeared to show the back of the house heavily damaged by the construction equipment.
According to the complaint, 911 dispatchers could hear shouting and the roar of machinery during the wife’s emergency call.
Authorities said Pierwsza’s wife and the couple’s two daughters managed to escape the home without injuries.
Buffalo Township Police Chief Timothy Derringer called the incident disturbing and noted the unpredictability of domestic violence calls.
“You never know what people are thinking today,” Derringer commented to WPXI.
“It is an unfortunate incident, I will say for all involved and hopefully it is an isolated incident and there are no other incidents in the future.”
Investigators allege that after tearing into the house, Pierwsza went inside, took a gym bag and headed toward Fawn Township.
Authorities said Pierwsza was gone by the time officers reached the property, having left the area in a vehicle. Investigators were later able to make contact with him by telephone.
After speaking with police, Pierwsza surrendered to authorities later that day, WPXI reported.
The shocking allegations left neighbors stunned. “I’d like to know what she said to him because I’ll make sure I don’t say it,” one neighbor told CBS News.
“Forty-two years I’ve been married, but I’ve never threatened to tear the house down.”
Police said Pierwsza’s wife planned to seek a protection-from-abuse order.
Derringer said the allegations were highly unusual for the community but noted the dangers of domestic violence.
“I can’t say this has happened in the past, it hasn’t,” he remarked. “But domestic violence is a real issue. Whether it’s here in this community and in every community.”
Pierwsza is looking at charges including causing a catastrophe, reckless endangerment and disorderly conduct.
Court records show he was released after posting $10,000 bail and is scheduled to appear for a preliminary hearing on June 9.
In Wisconsin, another marriage gone bad allegedly spiraled into violence when authorities said a man tried to burn his estranged wife alive after she filed for divorce and kicked him out of the house.
Authorities in Wisconsin say 47-year-old Nicholas Grundman is facing multiple felony charges — including attempted homicide, arson and stalking — after allegedly igniting a fire at the residence of his estranged wife while she was still inside the house.
According to a criminal complaint reviewed by Law&Crime, Grundman’s wife filed for divorce in February after roughly 18 months of marriage.
She told investigators Grundman was a “full-blown alcoholic” who struggled to keep a job, putting strain on the relationship.
Authorities said that after she forced him out, Grundman repeatedly bombarded her with calls and text messages in the days leading up to the fire.
The blaze broke out shortly after midnight on March 19 at a home on Fawn Ridge Court in Greenville.
The woman, who was alone inside, called 911 after waking up and discovering flames in the attached garage.
Investigators said her cat alerted her before she realized the garage was on fire. She escaped unharmed along with her three cats and two dogs.
Authorities later found evidence of an accelerant and a bottle of lighter fluid at the scene.
Authorities took Grundman into custody on March 31 while he was on the job at a construction site.
According to investigators, he had a backpack with him that contained a loaded Ruger Security-9 pistol, which his estranged wife told police disappeared from the home after she forced him to leave.
According to the complaint, Grundman told investigators he was remorseful and admitted using gasoline from a red container in the garage. He said he poured the fuel near a refrigerator and on a nearby workbench before igniting it with a lighter.
Grundman pleaded not guilty in early May. No trial date has been set, and he is due back in court June 17 for a status hearing.
Judge Yadira Rein reduced his cash bond from $1 million to $500,000 and imposed conditions that would apply if he is released.
In Utah, authorities are still searching for a husband accused of murdering his wife after allegedly offering to drive her to work.
Alvaro Jose Urbina Rojas, 57, is wanted on a first-degree murder charge in the death of Jeusselem Elieth Genes Vitola, 43, whom police identified as his wife of 19 years.
Family members contacted authorities on Feb. 27 when both husband and wife seemingly vanished and no one had been able to reach them since the day before.
According to charging records, the couple departed their residence at about 10 a.m. on Feb. 26 after leaving their 11-year-old child in the care of relatives.
Urbina was supposed to drive Genes to work. She never showed up. Investigators later tracked Urbina’s cellphone to the Draper area, where it registered activity around 2:40 a.m. on Feb. 28.
Two days later, on March 2, detectives executed a search of a trailer and discovered Genes’ body inside. A cellphone was also recovered at the scene.
An autopsy determined Genes died from severe blunt-force trauma to the head and showed signs of possible asphyxiation. The medical examiner ruled the death a homicide.
Investigators later discovered that the couple had been struggling financially for about a year and that Genes had recently told Urbina she wanted a divorce.
Relatives told investigators that Urbina had grown increasingly distrustful and possessive of his wife and had been keeping tabs on her.
Investigators also suspect Urbina may have intentionally disabled his wife’s vehicle so she would need transportation, creating a situation in which he could be alone with her before her disappearance, according to court documents.
