Last Updated on February 27, 2026
Susan Wright is a convicted murderer.
She was convicted of the first-degree murder of her husband, Jeff Wrigh,t in 2004.
He had been stabbed 193 times, all over his body.
Jeff was buried under the patio in a shallow grave in their back garden.
Susan Wright is also known as Blue Eyed Butcher.
Susan Wright was released on parole on the 30th December 2020.
Murder of Jeffrey Wright
On January 13th 2003, Susan Wright tied her husband, Jeff to the bed.
She stabbed him 193 times all over his body.
Seven of the stab wounds were concentrated in the groin area.
She used two different knives during the attack on Jeff.
She later dragged his body into their back garden.
Susan buried the body in a ditch that Jeff had dug while doing work on their garden.
She later repainted their bedroom to cover up her crime.
Susan Wright also destroyed blood stain evidence at the crime scene.
On January 14th 2003, she filed a domestic abuse report.
She wanted a restraining order against her husband, even though he was already dead at the time.
Blue Eyed Butcher: The True Story of Susan Wright (AD*) covers the killing in detail.
Susan Wright’s Confession
Susan Wright confessed to the murder of her husband to her attorney on January 18th 2003.
She confessed after their dog dug up his body.
She knew she could no longer conceal what she had done.
Susan had invited her attorney, Neal Davis, to her home to confess to him and seek legal counsel.
Davis reported the crime to the District Attorney’s office.
He informed them of her confession and the location of the body.
Police collected evidence from the crime scene.
This included bottles of bleach and a blood-stained mattress.
The press dubbed her the blue-eyed butcher due to the violence of the crime and her appearance with blue eyes.
Trial of Susan Wright
Susan Wright pleaded not guilty to her husband Jeff Wright’s murder.
Her defence was that the murder was a result of self-defence.
She claimed to have been subjected to years of physical and emotional abuse.
The prosecution, however, did not believe this.
They believed that she had persuaded her husband to be tied to the bed with the intention of murdering him.
They believed that Susan had murdered Jeff for a $200,000 life insurance policy.
Their bed was brought into the courtroom for a demonstration of the crime.
The prosecution also claimed that her tears were fake.
Susan testified as part of her defence.
She told jurors that her husband was high on cocaine and was being violent with her.
Susan claimed that she had no choice but to stab him.
She said that she was in fear for her life and afraid for their children.
Susan also claimed that she couldn’t stop stabbing him.
She was afraid that he would get the knife from her and stab her.
Susan’s mother testified that she had seen bruises on Susan’s body on previous occasions.
After nearly 6 hours of deliberations, the jurors declared that Susan Wright was guilty of the murder of her husband, Jeff Wright.
Sentence and Appeals
On March 4th 2004, Susan Wright was sentenced to 25 years in prison.
The first appeal was rejected by the Court of Appeal.
Susan’s conviction was upheld.
A further appeal in 2008 featured new testimony from Jeff’s ex-fiancée, Misty.
She told the court that Jeff had been violent during their relationship.
A new sentencing hearing was granted in 2009 following a successful appeal.
The court decided that her counsel was ineffective during the sentencing part of her trial.
In November 2010, her sentence was reduced to 20 years in prison before the possibility of parole.
Is Susan Wright out of jail?
Yes, Susan Wright is out of jail.
Susan Wright was released on 30th December 2020.
She was released after being granted parole in a parole hearing in July.
Susan was granted parole and is due to be under strict supervision.
She was undertaking anger control training and counselling.
Susan also had to wear a GPS monitor and undertake gainful employment as part of the terms of her parole.
Some parts of her parole conditions will last 3 months, and some of the supervision will last until 2024.
Susan Wright had been denied parole twice since becoming eligible for parole.
She was denied in 2014 and again in 2017 due to the violent nature of theoffencee.
The Blue Eyed Butcher was due for review for parole again in 2020.
Her projected release date was 2024, meaning she was released 4 years earlier than expected.
Family Life
Jeff and Susan Wright married in 1998 after meeting in 1997.
They met in a restaurant where Susan was working as a waitress.
Susan Wright has two children, son Bradley and daughter Kailey, with Jeff.
After the murder of their father and imprisonment of their mother, Susan Wright, the children went to live with Jeff’s parents.
To read more about the case, A Wife’s Revenge: The True Story of Susan Wright and a Marriage That Ended in Murder (AD*)
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