A man in the United States allegedly tried to kill his terminally ill wife while she was admitted to hospice care in front of her family. The husband reasoned that his act would “ease her suffering” and stated that he would “do it again” if he got the chance.
DeWayne McCulla, 45, was charged with attempted murder on Wednesday after he was accused of choking his wife, Arendra Lee McCulla, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in December 2021. The following night, Arendra, 47, succumbed to her long battle with her illness.
If found guilty of first-degree murder, as per state laws, DeWayne McCulla could face 15 years imprisonment.
Notably, it remains unclear why charges against DeWayne McCulla were framed on Wednesday, about two years since the alleged incident.
WHAT HAPPENED?
According to charging documents, the husband, DeWayne, on the night of the attempt to murder, had “choked the victim in an attempt to kill her to ease her suffering while they were with her during her terminal cancer and being on hospice”. The documents stated that six family members were compelled to pull the accused husband off the ailing wife after she began to gasp for air.
A New York Post report quoted a Utah police officer recalling the accused husband’s alleged disturbing confession. “During the conversation with DeWayne McCulla, he admitted to placing his hand over the victim (Arenda’s) neck in an attempt to ease her suffering as she was dying from cancer and was in hospice,” the cop said, as per court documents.
“He (DeWayne) said this was all stopped by family members who observed what he was doing and pulled him off of her,” the police officer added.
The police officers said that DeWayne told the authorities that “he would do this again because he loved his wife”.
An avid mountain biker, Arendra, was diagnosed with cancer in 2020 and her breast cancer spread to her brain, neck, lungs and liver before her death.
