North Country man attacked wife with hammer, knife before killing himself, troopers say

Waddington, N.Y. — A North Country man attacked his wife last weekend with a hammer and a knife before killing himself, troopers said.

The man, Paul McGrath, attacked his wife, Yvonne, while she was in bed in their home in St. Lawrence County, according to a news release Monday from Trooper Brandi Ashley, a spokesperson for the State Police.

Yvonne, 66, was able to escape and drove away in a Buick Enclave, Ashley said. She later died after the SUV went off the road and into a fence.

Troopers attempted Sunday to notify Yvonne’s next of kin of her death, Ashley said. They found Paul, 70, dead inside the family home in the town of Waddington, about an hour and a half northeast of Watertown.

An autopsy performed Monday showed Yvonne’s cause of death was a large incised wound to the neck