"D-Day Oct. 29th": Woman Accused of Plotting Estranged Husband's Demise

Kenosha---A city bus dash cam, a trail of emails and a couple of insurance policies all enabled police to build a case against a woman who’s accused of helping her estranged husband kill himself last week.

62 year-old Dawn McDermid, a retired nurse, was charged Monday with reckless homicide, assisting suicide and obstruction.

Police found the body of Robert Garcia in McDermid’s garage. Empty pill bottles were found nearby. The vehicle that was parked inside had its engine running. And blood was dripping from one of Garcia’s wrists.

At first McDermid claimed that she had been in Chicago that afternoon and returned home to find Garcia and the mess when she went to take out the trash. But according to images on the dash cam of a city bus that passes her condo every hour, McDermid’s vehicle was parked on the street for much of the afternoon.

Also, exchanges of emails between McDermid and an acquaintance suggested that she’d been helping to plan the suicide days in advance. One email included the phrase “D-Day Oct. 29th.”

When asked by investigators whether she would stand to benefit financially from Garcia’s death, McDermid said no. But then they found a pair of insurance policies worth $200,000.

Garcia apparently had been in the dumps over his pending divorce, a second offense drunk driving case and a count of domestic violence.

According to the criminal complaint, McDermid eventually admitted that she slit his wrist after finding him in the carbon monoxide-filled garage in a semi-conscious state with the empty pill bottles within reach.

She claimed that Garcia had wanted her to finish him off if his attempts at suicide failed.

McDermid, who appeared in court Monday in a wheelchair because of unspecified health problems, is being held in lieu of a half-million dollar bond.

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