Wash. Woman Accused of Trying to Saw Off Sleeping Husband's Head

Renee Bishop-McKean, 44, is on trial for allegedly trying to saw off her husband's head while he slept. (ABC News)

A Washington State woman who is accused of trying to saw off her husband's head while he slept is on trial this week on charges of attempted murder.

Renee Bishop-McKean was arrested in Everett, Wash., in October after her husband, Brett Bishop, awoke in the middle of the night to find her standing over him with a hand-held electric sabre saw, according to a probable cause affidavit filed in court.

In an attempted-murder trial this week in Everett, the prosecution said Bishop-McKean, 44, plotted the attack for weeks, buying plastic sheets, bleach and garbage bags to clean up the scene, according to ABC News affiliate KOMO-TV.

Bishop-McKean and her husband had been separated but were living together once again on the night of the attack, according to court documents.

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Renee Bishop-McKean, 44, is on trial for... View Full Size

ABC News

Renee Bishop-McKean, 44, is on trial for allegedly trying to saw off her husband's head while he slept.

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Brett Bishop went to sleep first that night, but awoke to the sound of an electric saw revving above him. When he awoke, Bishop-McKean was standing over him, according to the affidavit.

"Renee came at me in the kitchen with the Sawzall [saw] raised up, we had a struggle over it. She kept pulling the trigger to make it run, so I reached out and pulled the battery out of it," he said in court, according to KOMO.

After the struggle, Bishop-McKean allegedly hit him with a mallet and a hatchet. He was later treated at a hospital for cuts and scrapes, including stitches, the documents said.

Bishop-McKean told police on the night of the attack that she and her husband had both been attacked by an intruder. Her attorney, Ken Lee, told ABC News today that she stands by that story and denies that she tried to kill her husband.

Prosecutors told the jury that if Bishop-McKean had equipped the saw with a sharper blade or aimed the saw closer to her husband's neck, he might not have had the ability to fend off the attack and would likely be dead, according to the affidavit.

Bishop-McKean is charged with first-degree attempted murder and first-degree domestic violence assault in connection with the attack. Lee declined to provide an opening statement during the trial, and told ABC News that the trial is expected to wrap up Thursday.