MOUNT HOLLY, N.C. (Court TV) — A paramedic appeared in court on Monday on charges he killed his wife with eyedrops for an insurance payout.
Joshua Hunsucker stands in court during a hearing on Nov. 4, 2024. (Court TV)
Joshua Hunsucker, 41, is charged with first-degree murder, insurance fraud and obtaining property in the death of his wife, Stacy Robin Hunsucker. Hunsucker appeared in court on Monday for the first time since he was indicted on the charges last month and pleaded not guilty, WBTV reported.
In court documents, investigators said Joshua Hunsucker told people that his wife had died of a heart attack in September 2018, and filed paperwork with the insurance company to that end. The alleged victim’s body was cremated within two days of her death. Still, prosecutors say they were able to build their case on a single blood sample taken by the hospital due to Stacy Hunsucker’s status as an organ donor. That blood sample showed an abnormally high level of tetrahydrozoline, a key ingredient in eye drops. Former co-workers told police that the paramedic had previously said, “if he killed someone, he would do so using Visine or other eye drops.”
No charges in the case were filed for more than a year after Stacy Hunsucker’s death, but prosecutors say as they gathered more evidence and got closer to filing charges, Joshua Hunsucker went to great lengths to try to distract them. Just weeks before his eventual arrest on Dec. 19, 2019, prosecutors say he set fire to a medical helicopter while he was working as a paramedic, forcing an emergency landing. Joshua Hunsucker faces separate charges for that incident, which remains pending.
Joshua Hunsucker also faces separate charges of witness intimidation after allegedly staging his own assault and kidnapping and telling police that his in-laws had attacked him. Prosecutors say the police investigation revealed that Joshua Hunsucker was actually stalking and harassing his in-laws. Investigators also accused Joshua Hunsucker of attempting to poison his daughter, identified as P.H., with tetrahydrozoline.
