Wife Grabbed Knife, Husband Pulled Gun: Police

A Bethlehem man with a prior conviction for voluntary manslaughter is accused of pulling a gun on his wife during an argument in their Main Street apartment on Friday night, police said.

The wife admitted to police that she grabbed a knife out of the kitchen sink first, but she told police that was in self-defense, according to court papers.

Edward A. Ball, 52, of 1023 Main St., allegedly starting berating his wife after she and her sister returned to their apartment at a little before 8 p.m., according to the arrest affidavit.

The argument moved into the kitchen, where Ball continued to call his wife a number of derogatory names and then spit in her face, police said.

The victim told police that she was very afraid of Ball, as he is a large man—6-feet tall and 275 pounds—and she could not “whoop him,” the affidavit said.

According to The Morning Call, Ball pleaded guilty to a general charge of homicide in the shooting death of Ramon Marrero in 1984.

Ball’s wife told police she grabbed the knife out of the sink in self-defense. Ball responded by reaching into his waistband and grabbing a silver Smith & Wesson .32-caliber revolver, which was loaded with three bullets, police said.

But Ball dropped the gun as he pulled it out of his pants and the wife’s sister grabbed it and ran from the room, police said. A “tussle” between husband and wife ensued and Ball spit in his wife’s face one more time before police arrived, the affidavit says.

As a convicted felon, Ball was charged with a felony for carrying a firearm. He was also charged simple assault, recklessly endangering another person and harassment. He was arraigned before on-duty District Judge Roy Manwaring and committed to Northampton County Prison in lieu of $100,000 bail.