A North Carolina man is pleading not guilty in his wife’s death. Prosecutors allege that Joshua Hunsucker intentionally killed his wife, Stacy Hunsucker, by poisoning her back in 2018. They believe it was because he had a large amount of life insurance on his wife and was looking to take a payout. Those charges were just the beginning for Hunsucker, though. Since the death of his wife, a bunch of additional charges have been added to the list, including burning personal property and obstructing justice. He went so far as to allegedly stage his own kidnapping to make himself look more innocent. Now, his case is expected to go to trial in the fall.
Hunsucker has pleaded not guilty to the new charges.
The 41-year-old pleaded not guilty to charges of first-degree murder, insurance fraud, and obtaining property by false pretense in the death of Stacy Hunsucker, WBTV reported. Prosecutors alleged that he killed his wife by poisoning her with tetrahydrozoline so he could collect more than $200,000 in life insurance.
At the time, it was believed she died of natural causes, but vials of her blood were taken before she was cremated and pulled by the Department of Insurance and the medical examiner. The drug, which is commonly used in eye drops, was found in her system, per WBTV.
Hunsucker was arrested on December 19, 2019, and posted a $1.5 million bond on Christmas Eve. A judge ordered a temporary restraining order at the time to block him from using any more of the insurance money and to allow Stacy’s estate to recover assets.
That was just the beginning of his alleged crimes.
Hunsucker was charged with burning personal property in March 2021, WCNC reported. He allegedly set fire to a syringe pump during a flight on an Atrium Health medical helicopter on November 26, 2019, when he was working as a paramedic. That case is ongoing.
While Hunsucker was out on bond in 2023, he claimed that his late wife’s parents were harassing and intimidating him, WSOC reported per WLS-TV. He allegedly tied himself up with zip ties and staged a kidnapping where he also said his former in-laws injected him with an unknown substance.
WBTV reported that according to prosecutors, Hunsucker spent four years driving by in former in-laws’ home, following them, and videotaping them.
Around the same time, he was accused of poisoning his daughter with tetrahydrozoline, the same substance he allegedly used to kill her mother, according to WCNC. The girl was very ill and was hospitalized, but she recovered.
Hunsucker was charged with four counts of intimidating witnesses and four counts of obstructing justice, which he also pleaded not guilty to. A judge revoked his bail, sending him back to jail.
He wants to move the case to another area.
On April 6, Hunsucker filed a change of venue motion for his first-degree murder case, WCNC reported. In the filing, Hunsucker argued that continued local and national coverage of the case will affect his opportunity for a fair trial.
His subsequent arrests have put him in the news repeatedly since his wife’s death, and he’s concerned that the coverage will impact how jurors view him when the case goes to trial in September 2026.
Hunsucker also requested a venue change in 2021, the outlet reported. It was denied.
