Woman reportedly wrenches knife away from husband and slides it
under stove out of reach
marilyn dubil – staff writer
md****@**********rs.com
Morgan Hill
Quick thinking by a Morgan Hill woman may have saved her life when her husband tried to stab her in the chest after he spent the night drinking with friends, police said.
Margarito Gallardo, 38, of Morgan Hill, was booked into Santa Clara County Jail on suspicion of attempted murder, spousal abuse, criminal threats and kidnapping, according to Morgan Hill police Cmdr. David Swing.
The 33-year-old victim was treated at Saint Louise Regional Hospital for a severe cut on her hand, which required about 20 stitches. She was able to grab the serrated-blade utility kitchen knife away from her husband as he tried to plunge it into her chest, but as she did so, the knife sliced open her hand, according to police.
The incident started about 4 a.m. Saturday. Gallardo had been drinking with friends at his residence on Longview Drive earlier in the evening, and when the friends left, his wife asked Gallardo to be quiet so she could sleep, police said. Apparently, he got extremely angry and pulled her out of bed by the hair.
After he hit her in the face with his fist several times, Gallardo’s wife pulled away from him and ran into the bathroom with her cell phone. Swing said this made Gallardo even angrier, and he yelled for her to let him in, demanding to know who she was calling. He told her he would kill her if she called the police.
Using a kitchen chair, Gallardo broke into the bathroom and dragged his wife into the kitchen, where he grabbed a knife. Swing said Gallardo straddled his wife as he attempted to stab her in the chest. As she deflected the blows with her hand, she managed to wrench the knife away from Gallardo and slide it under the stove out of reach, but not before cutting her hand. She told him she had called police and they were on their way, so he got up to look for them.
Grabbing her shoes, the victim fled from the residence and flagged down a bread delivery truck.
While Gallardo initially refused to come out, instead turning out the lights and hiding, police officers forced the door open and found him hiding near the front door and arrested him without incident.
