Mecklenburg County Jail
A Mount Holly man accused of using eye drops in the poisoning death of his wife in 2018 has now been arrested for setting fire to a medical helicopter mid-flight over Charlotte in 2019, according to Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police.
Joshua Hunsucker, 37, was charged with felony burning of personal property on Monday.
According to the police report, the former paramedic for Atrium Health’s MedCenter Air unit used a piece of equipment to intentionally spark a fire while in the flight. The helicopter was forced to make an emergency landing, interfering with flight operations, authorities said.
Hunsucker turned himself into the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office this week. He was already out of jail on bond and awaiting trial for the charges related to his wife’s death, CMPD said.
Stacy Hunsucker, 32, died of a heart attack in 2018. Prosecutors say the mother of two was poisoned after a toxicology report detected “very high levels of tetrahydrozoline which is one of the active ingredients in certain eye drops.” High levels of anti-inflammatory when ingested can cause a number of health issues including cardiac arrest.
“We believe, through the interrogation of the defendant that occurred yesterday, that he was the one that poisoned Hunsucker with Visine or a similar product,” Mecklenburg County prosecutor Jordan Green said in court ”
Hunsucker collected $250,000 in insurance money due to his wife’s untimely passing. Prosecutors believe the payout was the motive for the crime.
The investigation into these cases remains active and ongoing.
