Utah man charged with attempted murder for choking terminally ill wife in front of her family to ‘ease her suffering’ while she was in hospice

A Utah man allegedly tried to kill his terminally ill wife while in hospice care in front of her family to “ease her suffering,” saying he’d “do it again” if he had the chance.

DeWayne McCulla, 45, was charged with attempted murder Wednesday after he was accused of choking his wife, Arenda Lee McCulla, who was diagnosed with breast cancer, on Dec. 20, 2021.

The next night, his wife, Arenda McCulla, 47, died from her long battle with the illness.

On the night of the alleged attempted murder, her husband 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,” according to charging documents obtained by KSL.

Six family members reportedly had to pull DeWayne McCulla off his dying wife after they saw her gasping for air, according to the documents.

A La Verkin police officer recalled DeWayne McCulla’s alleged disturbing confession, where he attempted to end his wife’s life in hospice.

“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 on hospice,” the officer said, according to the court documents.

“He said this was all stopped by family members who observed what he was doing and pulled him off of her.”

McCulla told responding officers that “he would do this again because he loved his wife.”

It’s unclear why the murder charges against the husband were filed Wednesday, nearly two years after the incident allegedly took place.

If found guilty of first-degree murder, McCulla faces 15 years to life in prison, according to state law.

Arenda was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2020, according to a GoFundMe page set up by her son.

Following the life-changing diagnosis, Arenda’s breast cancer spread to her brain, neck, lungs, and liver, all but sealing a terminal state.

Arenda experienced multiple rounds of radiation in a last-ditch effort to battle the fatal sickness.

She received “3600mg of Chemotherapy daily for 2 weeks on 1 week off it only extended her life for a few months; if you can call it living” from October 2021 until her death, her son Anthony Ryder wrote.

Before her death, an update showed the pain she was suffering from less than a week before her death.

“Radiation burns that it caused open sores and blisters in her throat making it impossible to eat, so much so she went almost an entire week not being able to eat anything but an Ensure Shake. These are the cruelties of breast cancer,” according to the Dec. 14, 2021 update on Arenda’s condition.

Arenda married DeWayne in January 2020, according to the late mom’s Facebook page.

Originally from Binghampton, NY, Arenda McCulla moved to south Utah in 2005 and was an avid mountain biker.

She also volunteered at a youth rehabilitation center “for years,” her son wrote on her GoFundMe page.

“She was my first love, my first friend, and my first enemy. During this whole process, I’ve been trying to find the words for something lost. Those long childhood afternoons of watching Golden Girls under a blanket that vanished so completely- and why? We are still reminded sometimes by a joke, a good ride, and youth energy,” her son Michael Ryder wrote.

“I had to remember it wasn’t about myself at this moment. I held her hand as she grasped for breath and watched her take her last breath. I love you mom.”