Who the (Bleep) Did I Marry? is investigating the attempted murder of Tracy Wygant, sometimes referred to as Tracy Chanowitz, who was attacked by her husband Christopher “Chris” Chanowitz, at their home in Wallkill, Ulster County, in New York.
On the evening of September 13, 1998, Chanowitz told Tracy, his wife of 14 years, that he had a surprise for her in the garage. He insisted on blindfolding her beforehand.
Tracy went along with her husband’s ploy until she felt him put a rope around her neck. Tracy removed the blindfold and discovered Chanowitz was holding a rope and had put a noose around her neck. She realized she was standing in a contraption involving chain links, eye hooks, and the noose.
Chanowitz informed Tracy that he was having an affair and had had a baby with another woman. He told Tracy he intended to “take her out.”
Tracy escaped from the garage and telephoned her sister, who came to the house and dialed 911.
Chanowitz reportedly admitted to Deputy Sheriff Adrian Dispenza that he had tried to kill his wife, leading to him being taken into custody on a charge of attempted murder.
Chris Chanowitz later claimed he wanted to scare Tracy Wygant
At his trial, Chanowitz’s legal team argued that their client was only trying to scare his wife to ensure she got the message that the marriage was over.
Watch the Latest on our YouTube ChannelTracy told the court that the pair had not been intimate in the last four years of the marriage and that she had tried hard to save their relationship.
She said Chanowitz had told her he was planning a surprise for her, and she’d suspected he was going to tell her he was gay. Instead, he tried to kill her.
Prosecutor Emmanuel Nneji argued that Tracy’s testimony showed Chanowitz had been planning the murder for weeks.
Chris Chanowitz convicted of attempting to murder Tracy Wygant
In the end, the jury convicted Chanowitz of second-degree attempted murder and criminal possession of a weapon. He was sentenced to 15 years.
Tracy later told reporters that she had explained, without details, what happened to their 9-year-old daughter. She said, “She knows he tried to hurt me. It was always pretty clear to me that my memory never got better or worse, no matter what his lawyer said. It was terrible.”
Prosecutor Nneji said, “It’s one of those crimes you can never understand and don’t want to understand.”
Who the (Bleep) Did I Marry? airs Mondays at 9/8c on Investigation Discovery.