Inset: James Christopher Frank (Northampton County Prison). Background: The home where Frank allegedly killed his wife (WFMZ).
A 57-year-old man in Pennsylvania is accused of killing his wife, allegedly slitting her throat with a steak knife and then hammering a knife into her heart to make sure she was dead.
James Christopher Frank was taken into custody on Tuesday and charged with one count of felony criminal homicide in the slaying of Deborah Glaser, authorities announced.
According to a news release from the Northampton County Office of the District Attorney, officers with the Bethlehem Township Police Department at about 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday responded to a call requesting a welfare check at a home in the 2100 block of 3rd Street. The caller requesting the check told the emergency dispatcher that they were a family member and they were worried about the residents in the house.
Upon arriving at the scene, first responders said they were attempting to gain access to the residence when they encountered Frank, who stated that “his wife, Deborah Glaser, was deceased in the bathroom.”
Frank then led officers to the bathroom where they discovered Glaser suffering from “multiple stab wounds” along with a hammer and a series of cutting instruments, including knives, razor blades, and box cutters.
“Frank admitted to police that he used a steak knife to cut Glaser’s throat in the trachea area while she was still alive,” the release states. “Frank admitted to using a knife and a hammer to puncture Glaser’s chest and heart, estimating he did so approximately 10 times. Frank admitted that the purpose of these actions was to ensure Glaser was deceased.”
Glaser was pronounced dead at the scene while Frank was placed under arrest.
A probable cause affidavit obtained by Lehigh Valley Live provided additional details about Glaser’s murder.
According to the report, officers were knocking on the doors and windows of the home but got no response until they raised a ladder to a second-story window and found Frank inside the home. Frank complied with a directive to open the front door, which is when he apparently told police, “My wife is dead in the bathtub.”
District Attorney Stephen Baratta told Allentown independent news station WFMZ that Frank had failed to show up or call in to work Monday or Tuesday. He also said that it wasn’t clear how long Glaser had been dead.
“He admitted to having sliced her neck open. It was a pretty gruesome injury,” Baratta told the station. “We can’t confirm how long she had been dead, but it was pretty clear that it was many hours prior to the police response.”
He added, “It was gruesome and on a very human level, upsetting, especially given that it’s a domestic situation.”
Police Captain Shaun Powell reportedly told local newspaper The Morning Call that his department had never had any interactions with Frank prior to Tuesday’s call. A neighbor told the newspaper that the couple had lived in the quiet neighborhood for a few years.
“I was flabbergasted. Nothing like this happens in Bethlehem Township,” neighbor Al Miller told the Longview News-Journal. “It just shocked me that we have a homicide in our neighborhood.”
Love true crime? Sign up for our newsletter, The Law&Crime Docket, to get the latest real-life crime stories delivered right to your inbox.
