Man Charged With Raping Wife, Attempted Murder on Valentine’s Day

William Brown in photo provided by the Chester County District Attorney.

A Chester County man is in custody after allegedly raping his wife and stabbing her cousin on Valentine’s Day.

Chester County District Attorney Tom Hogan announced the arrest of Nottingham’s William Brown on Wednesday morning. According to prosecutors, Brown’s wife obtained an order of protection against him on February 12th after he allegedly threatened to kill her with a butcher’s knife. She changed the locks and asked her cousin to come to the house to keep watch.

Two days after the order was issued, Brown showed up. According to a criminal complaint filed in the case, he broke the door down and terrorized the wife and cousin. He’s accused of stabbing the cousin repeatedly with a butcher’s knife, plunging the knife into him every time the wife tried to talk, and also attacking the cousin with a box cutter and a blunt object. Police say he threatened to kill both of them.

During the chaos, the wife was able to secretly dial 911 and leave the line open before the husband took her into a bedroom, where he’s accused of raping her. After the sexual assault, he allegedly threatened to kill the wife, cousin and himself.

Then they heard someone at the door. The quick-thinking wife said that it was their daughter, and the husband allowed her to let the daughter inside. But instead of the daughter, in came Pennsylvania State Troopers, who arrested Brown and rushed the wife and cousin to the hospital, where he is in serious but stable condition.

“This is a classic and terrifying case of domestic abuse, with violence masquerading as love,” says DA Hogan. “The victim here is to be commended for having the courage and composure to call 911. She stopped what otherwise would have been a double murder… [Brown] inflicted a savage attack on his wife and her cousin. But he was as meek as a lamb when armed Troopers showed up. He is a classic bully and coward.”

Brown is in Chester County Prison in lieu of $500,000 bail. He has been charged with aggravated assault, attempted murder, and rape, among other charges.

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Editor’s Note: The original headline for this story said that William Brown had been charged with attempted murder of his wife. He is charged with attempted murder of his wife’s cousin.