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Jury deliberates in murder trial for Arden doctor Frank 'Buddy' McCutcheon
Outline - Read & annotate without distractions
FEBRUARY 13, 2020
ASHEVILLE - The only reasonable conclusion to be made, state prosecutors said, is that Brenda McCutcheon killed her husband Dr. Frank "Buddy" McCutcheon Jr., on July 16, 2016.
But Brenda McCutcheon's defense lawyers said the assistant district attorneys on the case didn't prove that beyond a reasonable doubt.
The 69-year-old is on trial for first-degree murder in Buncombe County Superior Court. Attorneys for both sides presented their closing arguments the morning of Feb. 13 to a jury of 10 women and two men who will decide her fate. They began deliberation that afternoon.
[...]
Warrants and court documents showed the state was investigating the McCutcheons for possibly keeping employees' payroll withholdings, instead of paying them to the N.C. Department of Revenue as taxes. Buddy McCutcheon's practice was Cosmetic Surgery of Asheville, where his wife also worked.
Under North Carolina law, this would be considered embezzlement. The couple was served with a court order days before the physician died.
Warrants said Brenda McCutcheon had planned to shred 40 boxes of documents shortly after her husband died.
[...]
Forensic evidence in the case was inconclusive. Investigators did not find Brenda McCutcheon's DNA or fingerprints on the silver revolver used to kill her husband.
They found DNA from Buddy McCutcheon and two others on the firearm, but there wasn't enough material to determine who the two other people were.
There was blood spatter on the scene, but none on Brenda McCutcheon’s clothing. When detectives swabbed her hands and clothing for gunshot residue, they found a single particle on her shirt.
[...]
Defense attorney Sean Devereux, also representing Brenda McCutcheon, argued that prosecutors proved his client “might have killed her husband,” but they had not gone beyond reasonable doubt.
He said Buddy McCutcheon is remembered as a good man, but he "had some secrets."
Detectives discovered McCutcheon was having an affair with a married woman at work, for example, and he had recently made unexplained withdrawals totaling about $300,000 from his retirement savings.
[...]
Devereux put the financial responsibility back on Buddy McCutcheon, noting emails in which the doctor had complained that his taxes were an unjustified burden.
From the beginning of their relationship, he had been calling the shots, Devereux said, and he still was. Brenda McCutcheon did not know he was having an affair.
[...]
The state also argued it would have been impossible to see Buddy McCutcheon's head wound in the dark room and difficult to tell whether he was breathing. That left questions about why Brenda McCutcheon didn’t attempt CPR or even touch him when he was unresponsive to her voice.
[...]
Although there was no gunshot residue on the defendant's hands and only a single particle on her clothing, prosecutors argued she may have washed her hands and changed her clothes. Experts did find three elements on her hands, including lead, that would be found in gunshot residue.
[...]
Outline - Read & annotate without distractions
FEBRUARY 13, 2020
ASHEVILLE - The only reasonable conclusion to be made, state prosecutors said, is that Brenda McCutcheon killed her husband Dr. Frank "Buddy" McCutcheon Jr., on July 16, 2016.
But Brenda McCutcheon's defense lawyers said the assistant district attorneys on the case didn't prove that beyond a reasonable doubt.
The 69-year-old is on trial for first-degree murder in Buncombe County Superior Court. Attorneys for both sides presented their closing arguments the morning of Feb. 13 to a jury of 10 women and two men who will decide her fate. They began deliberation that afternoon.
[...]
Warrants and court documents showed the state was investigating the McCutcheons for possibly keeping employees' payroll withholdings, instead of paying them to the N.C. Department of Revenue as taxes. Buddy McCutcheon's practice was Cosmetic Surgery of Asheville, where his wife also worked.
Under North Carolina law, this would be considered embezzlement. The couple was served with a court order days before the physician died.
Warrants said Brenda McCutcheon had planned to shred 40 boxes of documents shortly after her husband died.
[...]
Forensic evidence in the case was inconclusive. Investigators did not find Brenda McCutcheon's DNA or fingerprints on the silver revolver used to kill her husband.
They found DNA from Buddy McCutcheon and two others on the firearm, but there wasn't enough material to determine who the two other people were.
There was blood spatter on the scene, but none on Brenda McCutcheon’s clothing. When detectives swabbed her hands and clothing for gunshot residue, they found a single particle on her shirt.
[...]
Defense attorney Sean Devereux, also representing Brenda McCutcheon, argued that prosecutors proved his client “might have killed her husband,” but they had not gone beyond reasonable doubt.
He said Buddy McCutcheon is remembered as a good man, but he "had some secrets."
Detectives discovered McCutcheon was having an affair with a married woman at work, for example, and he had recently made unexplained withdrawals totaling about $300,000 from his retirement savings.
[...]
Devereux put the financial responsibility back on Buddy McCutcheon, noting emails in which the doctor had complained that his taxes were an unjustified burden.
From the beginning of their relationship, he had been calling the shots, Devereux said, and he still was. Brenda McCutcheon did not know he was having an affair.
[...]
The state also argued it would have been impossible to see Buddy McCutcheon's head wound in the dark room and difficult to tell whether he was breathing. That left questions about why Brenda McCutcheon didn’t attempt CPR or even touch him when he was unresponsive to her voice.
[...]
Although there was no gunshot residue on the defendant's hands and only a single particle on her clothing, prosecutors argued she may have washed her hands and changed her clothes. Experts did find three elements on her hands, including lead, that would be found in gunshot residue.
[...]
