(WHDH) — A North Carolina man is facing a charge of first-degree murder after investigators say he used an ingredient found in eye drops and nasal spray to fatally poison his wife.
Joshua Hunsucker, 35, was arraigned last week in a Gaston County on charges in connection with the death of his wife and mother of his children.
Blood testing following his wife’s death on Sept. 23, 2018, found Tetrahydrozoline levels that were about 40 times higher than the therapeutic level, WSOC-TV reported.
Hunsucker, who worked as a paramedic, had regular access to medications containing Tetryzoline, according to the news outlet.
He allegedly refused to allow an autopsy to be performed on his wife because he didn’t want her body “to be cut up.” He later had her body cremated.
The victim reportedly had tissue saves prior to the cremation because she was an organ donor. Officials later determined she had been poisoned.
Those who worked with Hunsucker reportedly told investigators that were concerned with how “unaffected” he was by his wife’s death.
The victim’s family claims Hunsucker had been in a new relationship prior to the alleged murder.
Hunsucker has since been fired from his job with Atrium Health.
He is being held at the Gaston County Jail on $1.5 million bond, jail records show.
He due back in court at a later date.
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