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SALT LAKE CITY — A woman who police say gave her terminally ill husband a bottle of morphine has been arrested for investigation of attempted manslaughter.
Carol Ann Kubly Scott, 65, of Vernal, was booked into the Uintah County Jail on Wednesday.
The Uinta County Sheriff’s Office initially received information that a hospice patient may have been overmedicated. Deputies learned that Bradford Scott, 66, a “terminal patient” with cancer, was “given a large dose of morphine,” according to a police affidavit. This information was provided by a nurse who was at Scott’s Vernal home.
When deputies drove to the home and talked to the nurse, she said that she received a call from Scott’s wife who said she “had given Bradford a full bottle of morphine, but Bradford had not passed. When (the nurse) had arrived, Bradford was unresponsive, and ... was actively dying,” according to the affidavit.
Investigators say Carol Scott waited several hours before calling the nurses after administering the morphine, the affidavit states.
Deputies also noted that when she first signed up for hospice care, Scott’s wife had allegedly asked “if there was some type of pill Bradford could take when he was getting close to passing away that would make him pass.”
Carol reported that this RN told her to administer the entire bottle to kill the patient. I informed Carol that this conversation did not happen and that it is against the law. Carol reported that nobody ever told her that it was against the law.
–the affidavit
Scott asked the nurse if Narcan could be given to her husband “so she would not get in trouble,” the affidavit states. When later interviewed by deputies, she denied giving her husband the morphine and said she “did not want this to happen.” But she later claimed she was trying to fulfill her husband’s wish, which was that he was ready to “go home,” according to the affidavit.
The nurse said Carol Scott had called her that day saying she had given her husband all the morphine she had and became agitated when told she could not receive more, the affidavit says.
“Carol reported that this RN told her to administer the entire bottle to kill the patient. I informed Carol that this conversation did not happen and that it is against the law. Carol reported that nobody ever told her that it was against the law,” deputies wrote in the affidavit.
On Thursday, Bradford Scott’s daughter gave investigators a video of her talking to her father after he was taken to the hospital. “(She) asks Bradford about the morphine and Bradford says he did not try to kill himself because it was not in line with his religion,” according to the affidavit.
Scott was a preacher, according to police.
“(The daughter) informed me that her father would never have taken his own life because it was not in line with the teachings of the Bible,” the deputy wrote. “It should be noted (she) also turned over several screenshots of text messages where she said Carol was telling family members not to speak to law enforcement about what had happened.”
“Carol is Bradford’s primary caretaker and has power of attorney which would provide her the ability to make decisions on his behalf. Bradford would be a key witness in this case if he becomes coherent enough to answer questions,” a deputy wrote in the report. “With Carol already questioning individuals or telling them not to speak with law enforcement I feel it would detrimental to the case if she were to be released.”
