Authorities said man used eye-drop medication to kill wife

MOUNT HOLLY, N.C. (AP) — Authorities say a man who worked as a paramedic used eye drops to kill his wife for life insurance money.

Joshua Lee Hunsucker of Mount Holly is facing charges of first-degree murder.

Prosecutors said at a preliminary hearing on Friday that eye drops can cause heart failure when ingested in large quantities.

State officials say that Stacy Robinson Hunsucker died in 2018 and that her death was tied to a $250,000 insurance payout.

Joshua Hunsucker wouldn’t allow his wife to get an autopsy. But North Carolina Insurance Department attorney Jordan Green said that authorities were able to test vials of Stacy Hunsucker’s blood that were stored by a company that is involved with organ donation.

Green said her blood contained high levels of an ingredient that’s found in eye-drop medication.

Attorney David Teddy represented Joshua Hunsucker in court on Friday. He said that the allegations would be “strenuously opposed.”