Inset: Chad Haworth (St. Croix County Sheriff's Office). Background: Namekagon St. in Hudson, Wis. (Google Maps).
A Wisconsin man who killed his wife and then barricaded himself inside their home has been sentenced to decades behind bars.
Chad Haworth, 56, pleaded guilty to second-degree intentional homicide in connection with the death of his wife, 54-year-old Carmen Haworth. According to a criminal complaint obtained by local news outlet Pierce County Journal, Carmen Haworth's body was found by police after Chad Haworth staged an hourslong standoff at the couple's home in Hudson, Wisconsin, on March 6, 2025.
Police were dispatched that day for a welfare check at 3:09 p.m. When they spoke to Chad Haworth on the phone, he was "crying and yelling," claiming that his wife's boyfriend had deleted recordings from his iPhone.
According to the complaint, which was also obtained by Minnesota-based CBS affiliate WCCO, Chad Haworth had called police earlier that day, around 11 a.m., and told them that he believed his wife was "possibly poisoning him with their cats' medicine." He claimed that he had suddenly developed thyroid issues and was planning to go to the doctor, but acknowledged that he had no evidence.
After police arrived for the welfare check that afternoon, Chad Haworth told officers that Carmen Haworth had laughed at him when he confronted her about her boyfriend gaining access to his iPhone. He then told police that his wife was "no longer with us, she's deceased."
Chad Haworth told police that he snapped after his wife laughed at him, then cut her neck with "one of the finest cutting instruments known to mankind."
Police ordered him to put down any knives, and he started crying again while threatening to harm himself, suggesting that he would force officers to shoot him. When police heard the sounds of a firearm being engaged inside — which they determined was a pump-action shotgun — they ordered Chad Haworth to drop his weapon. He refused to let officers inside to check on his wife, telling them she had been dead for half an hour.
After Chad Haworth refused to allow police inside, the St. Croix County Emergency Response Unit deployed nonlethal tear gas into the home. Chad Haworth came out of his home at 6:20 p.m. and was arrested. Carmen Haworth was found deceased inside with a knife wound to her neck.
Chad Haworth was originally charged with first-degree intentional homicide, felony mayhem and felony aggravated battery, all with modifiers for use of a deadly weapon. He pleaded guilty on July 22 to second-degree intentional homicide.
On Tuesday, Chad Haworth was sentenced to 32 years in prison, to be followed by eight years of extended supervision.