Wasilla man allegedly ties up wife with Christmas tree lights, threatens to kill her

PALMER — Thomas Edward Hudzinski, 52, of Wasilla, was charged with kidnapping, two counts of assault in the third degree, criminal mischief, tampering with physical evidence and assault in the fourth degree.

It all began at 1 a.m. on Dec. 21 when Hudzinski’s wife called police and told them her husband was drunk and had called her and threatened to kill her. She told police he told her that he was walking on Wasilla Fishhook and that “if he doesn’t freeze to death before he gets home, he’s going to kill her.”

By 3:30 a.m., Hudzinski began ‘kicking, choking and pulling the hair’ of his wife at their cabin, according to police reports. The wife told police that Hudzinski took out a Leatherman pocket knife, placed it near her eye and threatened to ‘gouge it out.’

According to reports, Hudzinski later bound his wife’s hands together with Christmas tree lights and took her to the vehicle, where he tied her to a seat belt with the same Christmas tree lights as he drove from the couple’s cabin to their main residence. His wife told police that Hudzinski said to her, “This is why husbands kill their wives.”

Mrs. Hudzinski said she was able to get free from the light cords, but could not find a good opportunity to escape from the moving car. Once they arrived at their property, Hudzinski escorted his wife into an airplane hanger, where as he was going to get ammunition, he told his wife he was going to shoot her and then himself, according to court documents.

It was at this moment the wife broke free from the restraints and ran out of the hanger into the Chevrolet Suburban that was still running. She drove directly to the Wasilla Police Department. The doors there were locked, so she went to her daughter’s house. The two called 9-1-1 at 4:45 a.m. and later, Hudzinski was arrested by Wasilla Police Department officers, who interviewed him. In the interview, Hudzinski denied threatening to kill his wife and what she believed was him going over to get bullets was actually him going to the refrigerator to get a drink, when she suddenly drove away with the Suburban, according to police reports.

Hudzinski denied having a rifle in the hanger, but a search warrant found, in the airplane, an AR-15 with a ‘fully loaded magazine, one round in the chamber, and the safety was off.’

The police report concluded that the evidence at the scene corroborated ‘all of’ the wife’s statements.

The report said that at the end of the interview, Hudzinski said he knew he loved his wife, she loved him and that he had behaved like a ‘jackass.’

Hudzinski was given bail of $25,000 cash performance and a court-appointed third party custodian.

He is due in court Jan. 2 at 1 p.m. for a pre-indictment hearing.