Inset: Chad Haworth (St. Croix County Sheriff’s Office). Background: Namekagon Street in Hudson, Wisconsin (Google Maps).
A Wisconsin man who killed his wife before barricading himself inside their Hudson home will spend decades in prison.
Chad Haworth, 56, pleaded guilty to second-degree intentional homicide in the death of his 54-year-old wife, Carmen Haworth. According to a criminal complaint obtained by the Pierce County Journal, police discovered Carmen’s body after an hourslong standoff at the couple’s Hudson, Wisconsin, residence on March 6, 2025.
Officers were sent to the home for a welfare check at 3:09 p.m. During a phone conversation with police, Chad Haworth was described as “crying and yelling.” He claimed his wife’s boyfriend had erased recordings from his iPhone.
The complaint, also obtained by Minnesota CBS affiliate WCCO, said Haworth had contacted police earlier that morning, around 11 a.m. He told officers he believed his wife might be “possibly poisoning him with their cats’ medicine.” Haworth said he had unexpectedly developed thyroid problems and planned to see a doctor, while acknowledging that he had no proof of his suspicion.
When officers arrived later for the welfare check, Haworth said Carmen had laughed after he confronted her about her boyfriend allegedly accessing his phone. He then told police that his wife was “no longer with us, she’s deceased.”
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Haworth said he lost control after Carmen laughed at him and cut her throat with what he called “one of the finest cutting instruments known to mankind.”
Police instructed Haworth to put down any knives. He began crying again and threatened to take his own life, implying that he wanted officers to shoot him. After police heard a firearm being readied inside the house—later identified as a pump-action shotgun—they ordered him to drop the weapon. Haworth refused to let officers enter, saying Carmen had been dead for about 30 minutes.
When Haworth would not surrender access to the home, the St. Croix County Emergency Response Unit used nonlethal tear gas. He emerged at 6:20 p.m. and was taken into custody. Inside, officers found Carmen dead from a knife wound to the neck.
Haworth initially faced charges of first-degree intentional homicide, felony mayhem and felony aggravated battery, with deadly-weapon modifiers attached to each count. On July 22, he entered a guilty plea to the reduced charge of second-degree intentional homicide.
A judge sentenced Haworth Tuesday to 32 years in prison, followed by eight years of extended supervision.