Lisa Black recounts the day her husband invited her on a hike and tried to kill her by pushing her down an 800-foot cliff. INSIDE EDITION has the interview.
What happened on a towering 800-foot cliff will shock you.
The day started when Lisa Black's husband invited her to hike with him to the top of a mountain.
Lisa told INSIDE EDITION, "The intent was just to spend some time together and go on a picnic."
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It's called Maiden Cliff and a large, white cross marks the spot in Maine where, according to local legend, a young girl fell to her death 150 years ago.
The route Charles and Lisa Black took to get to Maiden Cliff was a bit of a steep walk. Lisa thought that she was making this trip with her husband to help repair their marriage. They were planning on having a picnic at the top of the hill.
The steep one-mile trail is filled with jagged rocks and gnarled tree roots. The payoff after that arduous one hour trek through the woods is a panoramic view of Lake Megunticook.
Then, the unthinkable happened.
Lisa said, "The thought that went through my mind was, 'I have eight to ten seconds to live.'"
It was there that Charles tried to kill his wife. He bashed Lisa in the back of the head with a rock and pushed her down the 800-foot cliff. The story of how she survived is miraculous.
She said, "I really felt like I was gonna die."
The evil plot failed because Lisa landed on a small ledge after falling ten feet.
She said, "When I fell the ten feet, I knew I couldn't go up, the only place was down."
It got even worse. She saw him coming after her, so she jumped down another 35 feet in a desperate attempt to escape from the husband who was apparently determined to kill her.
Lisa said, "He was trying to finish the job that he'd started, which was to kill me."
Somehow, Lisa managed to grab hold of branches and tree roots and climb the rest of the way down the 800-foot cliff.
Pointing out branches by the cliff, INSIDE EDITION's Les Trent asked Lisa, "So you're hanging on to roots and branches that are this thin?"
She said, "Yes."
So why did Charles Black throw his wife off the cliff?
Prosecutors say he wanted a $4 million inheritance that Lisa had received after her father died, and he also wanted to pursue an affair with his high school sweetheart from 50 years ago.
District Attorney Geoffrey Rushlau told INSIDE EDITION, "His conduct is appalling. It was brutal, and it's truly a miracle that she lived."
The 71-year-old man was convicted of attempted murder and sentenced to ten years in prison.
Lisa said, "I could not believe that someone who said they would love, honor, and protect me would do this to me."
At his sentencing, Charles claimed that he suffered amnesia and doesn't remember what happened. He made this half-hearted admission without a single word of apology to his now ex-wife.
In court, Charles said, "A jury has found me guilty and I must take responsibility for my actions."
Lisa said she's still shocked that the man she thought loved her would throw her off an 800-foot cliff.
Trent said to Lisa, "When you look at that and see how high up that is, the fact that you survived it, you must be thinking, 'Wow!'"
Lisa said, "I do. And I think I'm pretty proud that I'm tough and determined."
