Kenosha---A man who may have wanted to kill himself apparently received a helping hand from his wife, a former nurse.
Police found the body of 60 year-old Robert Garcia in the garage of his home Monday night.
Garcia's wife, 62 year-old Dawn McDermid, initially told police that she came home from a trip to Chicago and found that Garcia had collapsed in the garage. The door was closed and the engine was running on a vehicle.
McDermid later modified her story to say that instead of calling for help right away she retrieved some latex gloves, went back to the garage and slashed his wrist. She then purportedly went back inside the home and locked the door, leaving Garcia to die outside.
McDermid sobbed through a bond hearing Wednesday as prosecutor Angelina Gabriele relayed the results of the on-going investigation to Court Commissioner Jon Mason. A formal complaint is expected to be filed on Monday.
Depending on the results of the investigation, the contemplated charge of assisting in a suicide could be replaced by the more serious count of intentional homicide.
McDermid appeared in court Wednesday in a wheelchair. The attorney who represented her during the hearing said that McDermid suffered from serious health issues.
Whatever the main charge might be, McDermid is expected to face counts of obstruction. Shortly after arriving at the Public Safety Building for voluntary questioning Monday evening, McDermid allegedly flushed down a toilet the bloody latex gloves that she had used when purportedly slitting her husband's wrist.
In court Wednesday, Gabriele did not offer a motive for McDermid possibly wishing her husband dead, other than to say that at one point during questioning McDermid had referred to Garcia as her soon-to-be "ex-husband." The couple had been married for 18 years. There's no indication that Garcia had suffered from a terminal illness, Gabriele added.
For the past two years, McDermid has owned and operated a quilt shop called The Bruised Peach.
Bond was set at $300,000.
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