He laced wife’s ice cream with fatal dose of pills, WA officials say. Now he faces prison
.jpg "A jury found a man guilty of a first-degree murder charge on Dec. 13, 2021, in Spokane, Washington, in the killing of his 64-year-old wife.")
A 60-year-old Washington man was convicted of killing his wife by lacing her ice cream with pills, multiple news outlets reported.
David L. Pettis was convicted of first-degree murder on Monday, Dec. 13, in Spokane. He was accused of adding a fatal dose of pills to his wife’s ice cream before her 2018 death, The Spokesman-Review reported.
Doctors testifying during the trial said his wife, Peggy Pettis, was found with 10 times above the recommended dosage of painkillers, the news outlet reported.
A toxicology report found Peggy Pettis had hydrocodone, trazodone and Benadryl in her system, KXYL reported. The levels of hydrocodone were lethal, the outlet reported.
Pettis said he didn’t give it to her. Instead, he said she mixed painkillers with alcohol the night she died, KING-TV reported.
Investigators found no prescription pills in Peggy’s name and the toxicology report didn’t find alcohol in her system, the news outlet reported.
But detectives did learn that Pettis had taken out a life insurance policy on his wife worth $150,000 three days before her death, KING-TV reported.
During the verdict, his daughter, Elizabeth Culp, hugged him in tears, The Spokesman-Review reported.
“I know my dad didn’t kill her,” Culp said
Pettis will be sentenced on Jan. 12 in Spokane, according to online court records.
