Paramedic is charged with murder after poisoning his wife with Visine EYE DROPS

A paramedic has been charged with murder after investigators said that he fatally poisoned his wife with Visine eye drops and he collected $250,000 in life insurance.

Joshua Lee Hunsucker, 35, was arrested on Thursday in Gaston Gounty, North Carolina on a charge of first-degree murder in the September 2018 death of his wife Stacy Robinson Hunsucker, 32.

Stacey’s death in their home on the outskirts of Charlotte was initially ruled natural, until her mother raised alarms and accused Joshua of cheating on her and other suspicious behavior.

‘We have probable cause he poisoned Mrs. Hunsucker with Visine, which caused her death,’ said Jordan Green, an attorney for the fraud investigations unit of the North Carolina Department of Insurance, in court Friday, according to the Gaston Gazette.

Hunsucker is charged with first-degree in the September 2018 death of his wife Stacy Robinson Hunsucker, 32

Joshua is a paramedic and Stacey was a preschool teacher. They are seen with their children

According to an affidavit, Joshua gave different versions of where he was before he discovered his wife in their Mt. Holly home slumped over, not breathing and blue on September 23, 2018. 

He had told investigators he was seated at the kitchen table, with his back to her, working on his computer, when he turned around to see her slumped over on the couch. 

Stacey was rushed to a hospital, where she later died. Although Joshua would not allow an autopsy to be performed, a blood sample was preserved which would later prove crucial to the case. 

Soon after the death and his collection of $250,000 from two life insurance policies, Joshua’s mother-in-law Suzie Robinson began to grow suspicious, saying that he had been secretly dating a girlfriend before Stacey’s death.

After her outcry, an insurance fraud investigation was commenced. Investigators interviewed Joshua’s co-workers at Atrium Health’s MedCenter Air, where he had served as a lead paramedic since 2013, who said they were surprised how unaffected he seemed by his wife’s death. 

They were also shocked by how fast he began publicly dating another girlfriend less than six months after his wife’s death. 

Joshua is seen with Stacey before her death. Joshua’s mother-in-law raised the alarm and called for an investigation, saying he had been cheating on his wife 

Blood tests found massive levels of one of the medications in over-the-counter eye drops in Stacey’s system. The source could be Visine (above) or another similar brand

A test on the sample of Stacey’s blood found massively elevated levels of tetrahydrozoline, which is found in over-the-counter eye drops and nasal sprays.

The amount found was roughly 30 to 40 times higher than the therapeutic level, which the investigator Green said would have had a ‘dramatic effect on her heart, which would cause heart stoppage in a short amount of time.’  

Adding to suspicion in the case is the fact that just two weeks prior to Stacey’s death, a nurse was arrested in Sough Carolina after confessing to killing her husband with eye drops — a case that had received widespread media attention.

Stacey’s obituary said that she worked for the preschool at First Baptist Charlotte, was a former teacher at First Methodist Preschool in Mount Holly. 

Josuah Hunsucker is currently being held in the Gaston County Jail in lieu of $1.5 million bail. 

His attorney David Teddy said the allegations against him would be ‘strenuously opposed.’ 

Hunsucker’s next court appearance, a probable cause hearing, is set for January 9.