Details of drugs in hearing of A.F. doctor accused of killing wife
Michele MacNeill died in 2007 shortly after undergoing plastic surgery. Her death was initially believed to have resulted from natural causes, but MacNeill's daughter Alexis Somers says her father and Michele's husband, Martin, was actually responsible. National media, including an upcoming feature by the TV show "20/20," is now following the investigation. Photo courtesy Rachel MacNeill
Al Hartmann | The Salt Lake Tribune Martin MacNeill, a doctor accused of murdering his wife appears in Judge Samuel McVey's Fourth District Court in Provo Wednesday October 3 for the first day of preliminary hearings.
In a preliminary hearing of Martin MacNeill, an American Fork doctor accused of murdering his wife, a male nurse testified that he saw Mr. MacNeill’s wife on the floor, naked, receiving CPR. A nearby bathtub was empty.
The hearing comes five and a half years after 6-year-old Ada MacNeill walked into a bathroom and found her mother, Michele, dead in a tub of reddish-brown water, according to a nearly 60-page affidavit that goes into great detail, suggesting that Mr. MacNeill was a serial liar with homicidal tendencies years before his wife died.
The affidavit begins in 2006, when Mr. MacNeill allegedly had an affair with Anna Osborne. During the affair, Mr. MacNeill reportedly told Ms. Osborne that he previously killed his own brother, as well as some of his patients. Ms. Osborne also claimed that Mr. MacNeill had tried to kill his mother and that he wanted to kill his daughter, Vanessa.
Steve Mickelson, the nurse who testified Tuesday about his work relationship with the Utah Developmental Center doctor, said he had come to Mr. MacNeill’s home after he received a call from him, saying there was a problem.
After arriving, Mr. Mickelson said, he saw that there were fire trucks and ambulances at the home. He went inside, but then realized there were already personnel attending to Mr. Martin’s wife. He also recalled seeing a large gash over her eye.
The gash likely came from Michele’s plastic surgery, which she had on April 3, 2007. Court documents state that Mr. MacNeill may have pressured Michele into getting the surgery. Last week MacNeill’s daughter, Alexis Somers, testified that in the following days he overmedicated Michele until she was completely sedated.
During Mr. Mickelson’s testimony, he explained that following Michele’s death Mr. MacNeill came back to work sooner than expected. Mr. Mickelson was surprised, he recalled, but said Mr. MacNeill claimed he would rather be working than sitting around.
Following Mr. Mickelson, toxicologist Dr. Gary Dawson took the stand to discuss the series of drugs that were found in Michele’s blood after her death. The drugs included oxycodone, promethazine, zolpidem and diazepam.
According to Dr. Dawson, the combination of drugs would have had an additive effect, meaning they would have interacted with each other to produce heightened results.
“I did not find the physical evidence compelling enough to say ‘yes, this was a drowning,’ ” Dr. Todd Grey, the chief medical examiner for the state, testified.
Dr. Grey testified that he believes Michele died from arrhythmia — or a problem with her heart rate — that was compounded by the drugs she had taken. He did not believe Michele died from arrhythmia alone, without the drugs, or from drowning.
But Dr. Grey admitted being surprised that prosecutors were pursuing murder charges, saying the drugs found in Michele’s blood after her death could have had a “synergistic” effect.
“This is a very difficult homicide case to prove,” he added.
In addition to first-degree felony murder, Mr. MacNeill also faces one count of obstruction of justice, a second-degree felony. Both charges are the result of an extensive investigation prompted in part by his own daughters’ allegations that he killed Michele.
Mr. MacNeill’s hearing is scheduled to conclude later this week. Among the witnesses yet to testify is Mr. MacNeill’s former mistress Gypsy Willis. According to previous testimony, Mr. MacNeill and Ms. Willis were carrying on an affair at the time of Michele’s death. They were both convicted of fraud-related charges after trying to steal the identity of one of Mr. MacNeill’s daughters.
