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A Utah husband has been criminally charged with attempting to kill his terminally ill wife in an attempt to “relieve her suffering.”
DeWayne McCulla, 45, is accused of trying to strangle his late wife, Arenda Lee McCulla, while she was receiving hospice care.
Arenda, 47, died on December 21, 2021, after a tough battle with breast cancer that involved several rounds of radiation and chemotherapy.
The husband “strangled the victim” in front of six family members and had to “be torn away from her,” according to charging documents obtained by ksl.
When questioned, McCulla stated that “he would do this again because he loved his wife,” police said.
DeWayne McCulla, 45, is accused of attempting to murder his terminally ill wife, Arenda Lee McCulla, 47, “to alleviate her suffering.”
McCulla is accused of trying to strangle his wife in front of her family and only stopped when he was taken away.
Police said McCulla admitted his actions when questioned and told them he would do this again because he loved his wife. In the photo: Arenda with her son, Michael Ryder.
McCulla was charged with attempted murder Wednesday in Fifth District Court. It is unknown why the district attorney only filed charges two years after Arenda’s death.
La Verkin police said McCulla admitted to the crime when they called to get his side of the story.
“During the conversation with DeWayne, he admitted to placing his hand on victim Arenda’s neck in an attempt to alleviate her suffering while she was dying of cancer and in hospice care,” the charges state.
“He said this was all stopped by family members who watched what he was doing and pulled him away from her. DeWayne said he would do this again because he loved his wife.
Arenda was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2020, which then returned and spread to her brain, neck, liver and lungs.
Days before his death, his son Anthony Ryder posted an update about a GoFundMe medical expenses page, which gave insight into the harrowing “trauma, mutilation and pain” her mother was going through.
‘After receiving radiation in early October and 3,600 mg of chemotherapy a day for two weeks on one week off, it only extended his life by a few months; If you can call it living.
‘The radiation burned him and caused open sores and blisters in his throat that made it impossible for him to eat, so much so that he spent almost an entire week unable to eat anything other than a Guaranteed smoothie. These are the cruelties of breast cancer.’
Arenda was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2020, which later spread to her brain, liver, lungs and neck.
The mother died on December 21, 2021, but charges were not filed against her husband until two years later.
Arenda was an avid mountain biker before her illness and volunteered to help troubled youth in La Verkin, Utah.
The McCullas married in January 2020. Arenda moved from Binghampton, New York, to southern Utah 15 years earlier.
Before she became ill, Arenda was described as an avid mountain biker and a big part of the local community in the Hurricane and La Verkin area.
Originally from Binghampton, New York, she moved to southern Utah in 2005 and volunteered at a youth rehabilitation center for many years. The McCullas married in January 2020, according to her late mother’s Facebook page.
An obituary written by Ryder paid tribute to his “first best friend.”
‘We lost a wife, mother, sister and friend. We had a wonderful best friend, a side kick, and we were the brightest in the room. One who never had a chance to grow old,” she wrote.
‘She was my first love, my first friend and my first enemy. Throughout this process I have been trying to find the words for something lost.
‘Those long childhood afternoons watching Golden Girls under a blanket that completely disappeared… and why? Sometimes they still remind us of a joke, a good trip and youthful energy.
‘Just like in life, she brought the family together, caused a lot of laughter that was cathartic.
‘But I’d be lying if the last 12 hours weren’t one of the most traumatic experiences of our lives.
‘I had to remember that it wasn’t about me right now. I held her hand as she tried to breathe and watched her take her last breath. I love you mom.’