Man allegedly killed his wife with eye drops and poisoned his daughter while waiting for trial

A former North Carolina paramedic accused of fatally poisoning his wife with eye drops has been Released on $1.5 million bail when he poisoned his daughter with eye drops, authorities said.

Prosecutors alleged that Joshua Lee Hunsucker, 39, poisoned his then-10-year-old daughter last year with tetrahydrozoline – an ingredient used in over-the-counter eye drops and nasal sprays – as part of a larger plot to frame his wife Stacy Robinson Hunsucker's parents for her murder in 2018. Stacy Hunsucker's cause of death was originally listed as a heart attack, and it was not until her mother, Suzanne Robinson, contacted the North Carolina Department of Insurance and accused him of insurance fraud The public prosecutor's office announced that criminal investigations had been launched.

Suzanne and John Robinson later claimed in court documents that Joshua Hunsucker was inspired by another criminal case in which eye drops were used as poison when he tried to kill his wife to cash in on her $250,000 life insurance policy. But that was just the beginning of a bizarre saga, prosecutors said. Hunsucker is said to have set fire to a rescue helicopter in mid-air, staged a kidnapping to prevent his in-laws from testifying against him, and abused and neglected his daughters.

He is currently in custody awaiting trial on charges of murder, insurance fraud, intimidation of a witness, obstruction of justice and arson. His attorney did not respond to a request for comment from HuffPost.

Shortly after Hunsucker's arrest, the Robinsons addressed their deceased daughter in a statement provided to a journalist.

“Stacy, your mother and father promise you that we will not rest until justice is served. We will do everything in our power to support and care for your beautiful daughters. … We will love them as we loved and still love you. We will never let your children forget what a truly wonderful mother you were to them. Your spirit and smile live on in them every day.”

Stacy Robinson Hunsucker died in September 2018 at the age of 32. The former paralegal and preschool teacher suffered from a heart condition that required a pacemaker. Gaston Gazette reportedwhich was initially thought to have contributed to her death. The pacemaker was implanted in 2015, according to WSOC-TVwhich cited a GoFundMe campaign set up to support the family following her death.

The couple had started dating in high school and had been married for eight years when she died. Gaston Gazette reported.

Although Stacy Hunsucker was registered as an organ donor, Joshua Hunsucker said he did not want her to be “dismembered” and refused to perform an autopsy, according to a affidavit of arrest received by WBTVHe had her body cremated immediately and filed a claim on her $250,000 life insurance policy two days after her death, investigators said.

A criminal investigation was only initiated after her mother contacted the North Carolina Department of Insurance and accused him of insurance fraudsaid the prosecutors.

Although her organs were not preserved for donation, a blood sample was taken and preserved before her cremation because she was an organ donor, court documents state. Investigators obtained the sample and sent it to a lab, which reported it contained 30 to 40 times the therapeutic level of tetrahydrozoline, according to the warrant. obtained through the Gaston Gazette.

If taken orally, tetrahydrozoline can cause drowsiness, low blood pressure, a dangerously slow heart rate, abnormal heart rhythm, and difficulty breathing. Poison control.

Prosecutors alleged in court documents that Joshua Hunsucker poisoned his wife “over a period of time” by slipping eye drops into her drinks. He even reportedly told two co-workers before her death that if he ever wanted to kill someone, he would poison them with Visine or another brand of eye drops.

While the murder investigation was ongoing, Hunsucker, a flight paramedic, allegedly set fire to a medical device in a helicopter while it was in the air in November 2019. The pilot was forced to make an emergency landing at a car dealership, but no one was injured.

About a month later, in December 2019, Joshua Hunsucker was arrested and charged with the murder of his wife. Atrium Health released him the same day, and he was later arrested again and charged with arson in connection with the helicopter fire.

The hospital system said it was grateful that there were no patients on board the helicopter at the time.

“If the allegations against Mr. Hunsucker are true, it is beyond us what could have driven him to endanger himself and others in this way,” Atrium said in a statement.

In June 2020, after Stacy Robinson Hunsucker's cause of death was officially changed from heart attack to murder, her parents filed a wrongful death lawsuit. Gaston Gazette reported.

Stacy Hunsucker's family claimed in the lawsuit that Joshua Hunsucker was inspired to poison their daughter with eye drops within days of a similar case becoming known.

On August 31, 2018, South Carolina nurse Lana Sue Clayton was charged with fatally poisoning her husband after toxicology reports found high levels of tetrahydrozoline in his body. Stacy Hunsucker died on September 23, less than a month later. Clayton was sentenced to 25 years in prison in 2020 after pleading guilty to manslaughter. WCNC reportedAccording to investigators, she said she only wanted him to suffer after she put Visine in his drink.

Suzanne and John Robinson not only sued Hunsucker, but also fought for custody of their two granddaughters.

After his first and second arrests, Joshua Hunsucker was released on bail. The Charlotte Observer reported.

A judge awarded Joshua Hunsucker’s sister sole custody of the girls while his case was being pursued, and he had unsupervised visitation rights with them every other weekend, which Gaston Gazette reportedHis court-imposed daily curfew was later extended to allow him to attend his daughter's lacrosse games and other school activities. WSOC-TV reported in December 2021.

He also continued to meet with his wife's parents. The Robinsons said Hunsucker repeatedly harassed them, filmed and photographed them at his daughter's lacrosse practice, made “vulgar gestures” toward them in public, followed them in his car and regularly drove past their home, court documents said. His daughters were present during many of these incidents, prosecutors said.

Then, on February 4, 2023, prosecutors alleged that Hunsucker staged his own kidnapping. According to court documents, he told authorities that John Robinson attacked him when he stopped to change a tire. Hunsucker claimed he was beaten with a gun, bound with zip ties, and drugged.

Authorities said they found no evidence to support his claim.

Twenty days after the allegedly staged kidnapping, his eldest daughter became seriously ill, prosecutors said. Symptoms included low blood pressure, a low heart rate, drowsiness and extreme fatigue, constricted blood vessels and “temporary change in consciousness” or a brief loss of normal consciousness or behavior.

Hunsucker told medical staff treating his daughter that it appeared she had been given Visine – but that was not a “reasonable conclusion” given her symptoms at the time, prosecutors said.

The girl, now 11, was treated at two different medical facilities after the alleged poisoning, authorities said in court documents, and has since recovered. Tests showed that in addition to tetrahydrozoline, she also had a drug prescribed as an adult antidepressant in her system, court documents said.

Investigators responding to Hunsucker's kidnapping report said they found an adult antidepressant pill in the bed of his truck, which matched the drug found in his daughter's system, prosecutors said.

Hunsucker poisoned his daughter and staged the kidnapping as part of a larger attempt to implicate his in-laws in his wife's death and “remove the Robinsons from his daughters' lives,” prosecutors said.

At a hearing Friday, Hunsucker's attorney requested the appointment of a public defender to represent Hunsucker on the new charges related to the allegedly staged kidnapping and poisoning of his daughter. A motion by prosecutors to revoke his bail will be considered at a court hearing scheduled for Oct. 7. WCNC Charlotte reportedUntil then, he will remain in the Gaston County Jail.

The Robinsons' attorney stressed that the safety of their daughter's children is their primary concern at this time.

“From the Robinsons' perspective, the safety of their family and grandchildren is paramount,” he told WCNC Charlotte. “They are grateful and appreciative of the District Attorney and his ongoing efforts to investigate the case and obtain justice for Stacy.”

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