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David Pettis of Spokane was convicted of first-degree murder for killing his wife by lacing her ice cream with pain medication to allegedly receive multiple life insurance payouts to start a new life with an old high school girlfriend.
Pettis, 60, ground-up about 10 times the amount of what's considered a "therapeutic dose" of hydrocodone and put it into a bowl of ice cream he gave to his wife, Peggy Pettis, 64, before she died on June 25, 2018, The Spokesman-Review reported.
Pettis claimed he fell asleep on the couch sometime after 8:30 p.m. and woke up around two hours later when he found his wife lying face down on the bedroom floor.
He proceeded to call 911 and started CPR but was unable to revive her. She was pronounced dead around 11:10 p.m., The Spokesman-Review reported.
Prosecutors said Pettis recently took out three life insurance policies on his wife, two of which went into effect just days and weeks before her death so Pettis could receive the money to start a new life with Robin Kaylor, an old high school girlfriend, The Spokesman-Review reported.
However, Elizabeth Culp, the daughter of the victim, doesn't believe her father intentionally planned to kill her mother.
Culp said Peggy Pettis was on hydrocodone after an incident where a boar stabbed her in 2016 while she was working on the Cheney Farm. The accident left her in pain and with a limp, The Spokesman-Review reported.
Culp said it was common for her mother to take her pain medication crushed up as it was easier for her than to swallow whole. So, when her father crushed up the pain medication and added it to the ice cream, it was a normal occurrence, The Spokesman-Review reported.
"I feel awful, I feel even more awful than I did before because I know that my dad didn't kill her and it certainly wasn't premeditated," Culp said after the verdict, KXLY reported.
David Pettis leaned forward and bowed his head as soon as Monday's verdict was read by Spokane County Superior Court Judge Michael Price. After the hearing ended, Pettis' daughter, Elizabeth Culp, tearfully ran up to hug her father before he was taken into custody.
"I know my dad didn't kill her," Culp said through tears outside of court.
The Pettis family has been divided throughout the trial with Culp standing by her father while her brother testified he believed his father had something to do with his mother's death.
Pettis will be sentenced on the first-degree murder conviction early next year.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Update 12/15/2021 3:15 p.m.: This story has been updated to remove the name of a family member.
