Karen Lueders

Karen Lueders of Sheboygan is responsible for putting Wisconsin in the national spotlight once again.

Lueders allegedly bit off her husband's tongue while kissing him.

From the Sheboygan Press:

A Sheboygan woman accused of biting off her husband's tongue while kissing him was charged Tuesday with felony mayhem and ordered to undergo a mental evaluation.

Karen Lueders, 57, of 2833 Windepoint Court, severed half of Willard Lueders' tongue during a "manic" episode about 11 p.m. Monday, authorities said. She now faces a rarely used felony — related to intentional disfigurement or mutilation — that carries a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison.

...According to authorities: A criminal complaint said Karen Lueders was "still carrying a New Year's horn in her hand and singing Christmas carols" outside her house as the first police officers arrived on scene. They had been summoned by a 911 call from her husband, Willard Lueders.

As officers asked what kind of help was needed, Karen Lueders blew the horn in an officer's ear. She also threw a coffee cup at police.

Police found Willard Lueders, 79, in a bedroom holding gauze to his mouth. Emergency responders told police his tongue had been bitten off.

By nodding to officers' questions he confirmed that his wife was responsible. Karen Lueders also told officers she had bitten off her husband's tongue.

...In a later written statement, Willard Lueders said the incident began when he went into the bathroom while his wife was on the toilet. When he leaned over to kiss her, she went into a "manic state," grabbing his genitals and biting off his tongue.

According to Willard Lueders, his wife had been behaving oddly in the preceding days, speaking very fast and talking about spiritual things.

Police recovered the severed half of Willard Lueders' tongue and sent it with him to Aurora Sheboygan Memorial Medical Center. He was later transferred to Froedtert Memorial Lutheran Hospital in Wauwatosa, where doctors worked to reattach the tongue.

This is really a horrible story.

Willard Lueders was severely injured by his mentally ill wife.

Any jokes about the case seem insensitive when one hears the 911 call placed by Willard Lueders.

After half his tongue was bitten off, Willard Lueders used a series of "uh huh" and "uh uh" sounds to communicate with 911 dispatchers and get medical help, according to a recording released Wednesday.

Karen Lueders — the wife charged with felony mayhem for allegedly severing the tongue — can be heard in the background singing Christmas carols, carrying on a conversation with herself and rambling about the end of the world. Karen Lueders is in jail awaiting the results of a mental health evaluation ordered by a judge on Tuesday.

Willard Lueders, 79, called police about 11 p.m. Monday from the couple's home at 4833 Windepoint Court. He makes a series of unintelligible moans and exclamations before dispatchers begin asking him questions.

"Can you breathe OK?"

"Uh huh."

"Is this Willard?"

"Uh huh."

"And you need an ambulance?"

"Uh huh."

Karen Lueders, 57, is heard in the background throughout the nearly seven-minute recording. Most of the time she is too far away from the phone to be understood on the recording, but she appears to be carrying on a conversation.

"Are you afraid like I was afraid? Because you're insane," she says at one point. After an unintelligible reference to reality, she adds: "The end of the world is coming, young lady. You're going to hell."

...Karen Lueders can be heard repeatedly singing portions of "O Come All Ye Faithful" on the 911 call, at times clapping along with herself. Willard said "uh uh" when asked by dispatchers if she had been drinking.

Listen to portions of the 911 call.

From FOX 6 News: