A county judge rejected a plea agreement Thursday, Feb. 1, after the wife of the defendant spoke about how his death threats left her and her family in fear for their lives.

Butler County Common Pleas Court Judge Joseph Kubit said the negotiated sentence for Norman D. Bindernagel, 45, of Petrolia, of 90 days of house arrest and 36 months of probation for a terroristic threats charge was “not adequate to address the circumstances.” Bindernagel planned to plead guilty to the charge in the deal.

The content of the alleged threatening text messages Bindernagel sent to his wife, Jennifer, is extraordinary, Kubit said.

Kubit directed Assistant District Attorney Patricia McLean and Assistant Public Defender Jennifer Popovich to try to negotiate a new plea agreement.

Bindernagel is in the county prison in lieu of $100,000 bail on misdemeanor charges of terroristic threats and harassment filed by state police in August 2022. An affidavit in the complaint includes many, but not all, of the threatening messages he allegedly sent to his wife beginning in June that year, according to the affidavit.

The messages include, “I just want to murder you,” and “what do you prefer fire poker, machete, sledgehammer, butcher knife. Gotta be the tire iron yes makes sense limbs then wait a good while eventually opening the skull not too soon that’s too good for you,” according to the affidavit.

He participated in the sentencing hearing via video from the prison.

In a victim impact statement, Jennifer Bindernagel said she left her home and stayed with relatives when the threats began, and he made death threats to her mother.

She said she was afraid he would attack her or have someone kill her, and she doesn’t sleep well because of the threats. She said she is afraid for her family’s safety, and her son and parents fear for her safety. She said she obtained a protection from abuse order against him.

“My entire family lives in fear,” she said.

Her friends don’t want to be around her because they are worried about being harmed, she said.

As a result of the threats, she said she created safety plans for her home and work, had a home security system installed, and took self-defense training.

She said she hopes her husband moves on and gets the help he needs. She said people can change, and she agreed with the recommendation of house arrest and asked for him to be relocated to another state.