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Background: The neighborhood in Little Chute, Wis., where Rudolf Knapp allegedly assaulted his girlfriend (Google Maps). Inset: Rudolf Knapp (Outagamie County Sheriff”s Office).
In a chilling case out of Wisconsin, a 59-year-old man is facing serious charges after allegedly strangling his girlfriend, claiming that she was the one inflicting harm on him. Rudolf Knapp now sits in the Outagamie County Jail, arrested on charges including attempted first-degree intentional homicide, strangulation, battery, and disorderly conduct.
The Fox Valley Metro Police Department shared details of the incident on Facebook, revealing that officers were called to a residence in Little Chute, Wisconsin, late Sunday night at 11:45 p.m. The call, which reported a domestic disturbance, came from the woman’s son, who alerted dispatchers that his mother was “screaming for help” and being choked by an “unknown male.”
As outlined in a criminal complaint examined by Law&Crime, the call from the boy suddenly went silent amid sounds of screaming in the background, raising the urgency for police intervention. Upon arrival, officers found the woman injured, holding a bag of frozen food to her swollen right eye, with visible injuries including a bloody mouth and red marks on her neck.
Initially hesitant to discuss the ordeal in front of her son, the woman declined immediate medical attention but later went to the hospital with a friend. She expressed her desire for Knapp to be apprehended, stating she needed to “feel safe.”
During her hospital visit, she recounted to police how an argument erupted while she and Knapp were in bed, enjoying gelato. The confrontation escalated violently when Knapp allegedly pinned her down, strangling her to the point where she struggled to breathe and drifted in and out of consciousness.
The woman told police that she “thought she was going to die.”
Officers spoke to the woman’s son, who told them that he heard a commotion from his mother’s bedroom and then heard her screaming. He then saw a man he did not know, later identified as Knapp, on top of her. He started yelling at Knapp, asking him what he was doing in the house and who he was. Knapp was reportedly getting his coat on before fleeing the scene in his Mercedes Benz.
Police said the woman has since been released from the hospital, and she let investigators look at her phone. According to the complaint, Knapp sent her a number of texts that she did not respond to. One of them read, “I have no idea how I lost control the way I did tonight. I am evil and sick. There is no question in my mind of what I have to do now,” and “Thank you for one last good day.” Knapp allegedly made several threats to take his own life.
According to the complaint, police spoke with one of Knapp’s friends, who said that he allegedly confessed to the assault and made suicidal comments. Police went to Knapp’s home, but he refused to answer the door. On Monday, Knapp showed up at the Outagamie Sheriff’s Office to report that he had been “drugged and assaulted.”
When police questioned Knapp, he told them he acted in self-defense, telling officers, “I just wanted her to stop hurting me. I was just so tired of being hurt by everybody.” According to the complaint, he told the police that the woman gave him hydroxyzine to help with his anxiety after they attended church on Easter. When they went to bed that night, Knapp said the woman allegedly started “swinging” a box cutter or razor blade at him while screaming about the custody of her children.
Knapp allegedly told police that he “had no other option” than to strangle the woman because she was “going to kill him.” He also claimed that the woman put Xanax in a soda she gave him.
Police questioned Knapp about the cuts that were on his body, telling him they were not consistent with the struggle he or the woman described. He then reportedly told police he had mental health issues, saying, “I am a monster. I’ve never been a bad person,” when asked why he allegedly reacted the way he did. He also admitted that the cuts on his body were self-inflicted.
Knapp is currently in custody at the Outagamie County Jail, where he is being held on $500,000 cash bond. He appeared in court on Tuesday, and his next appearance has not yet been scheduled.