Son's complaint led to charge against Utahn accused of trying to kill terminally ill wife

DeWayne McCulla was charged Wednesday with attempted murder of his wife Arenda McCulla. She died two years ago of cancer. He is accused of choking her before her death in an attempt to ease her suffering.

DeWayne McCulla was charged Wednesday with attempted murder of his wife Arenda McCulla. She died two years ago of cancer. He is accused of choking her before her death in an attempt to ease her suffering. (McMillan Mortuary)


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ST. GEORGE — When Anthony Michael Ryder thinks of his mother, he recalls her strength, tenacity, and "life vigor she expressed."

"She loved deeply, and was someone that protected vulnerable people. She spent her time volunteering at troubled youth centers, saved a few lives from drowning, choking and suicide. She tried to see the good in people. My mother was a survivor who's had a lot of things happen in her life that have been very trying. She turned that into being a thriver in life," Ryder told KSL.com.

But on Dec. 21, 2021, Arenda Lee McCulla, 47, lost her battle with breast cancer.

She and her only son, Ryder, had moved from upstate New York to southern Utah in 2005 where McCulla became an avid mountain biker. In 2020, however, he said she was diagnosed with invasive ductal carcinoma breast cancer. A year later, after receiving treatment, the cancer returned and became metastatic breast cancer, "spreading to her brain, neck, lungs, and liver and is now terminal. The cancer in her neck has caused her to be disabled, without full use of her right hand and arm to complete daily tasks, causing lower quality of life and terrible physical pain," Ryder wrote in a GoFundMe campaign in 2021.

McCulla died while living in La Verkin and on hospice care.

But on the night before she passed, Ryder says he, five other family members, and his mother's husband, DeWayne McCulla, were by his mother's side when investigators allege that DeWayne McCulla tried to end his wife's life by choking her.

On Wednesday, McCulla, 45, was charged in 5th District Court with attempted murder, a first-degree felony.

He "choked the victim in an attempt to kill her to ease her suffering while they were with her during her terminal cancer and being on hospice," according to charging documents.

A La Verkin police officer called DeWayne McCulla after Arenda McCulla's death to get his version of what happened.

"During the conversation with DeWayne, he admitted to placing his hand over the victim Arenda's neck in an attempt to ease her suffering as she was dying from cancer and was on hospice," the charges state. "He said this was all stopped by family members who observed what he was doing and pulled him off of her.

"DeWayne said he would do this again because he loved his wife."

Ryder, however, believes McCulla's "claim that his actions were in benevolence of my mother is ludicrous" and says the appropriate criminal charge was filed against him.

"She didn't die with dignity," Ryder said.

He said his mother's wish was to be transported to Oregon where she could take advantage of the state's Death with Dignity Act, which allows terminally ill patients to end their lives with self-administered lethal medications.

Ryder says before the alleged choking, DeWayne McCulla had been arguing with Ryder's grandmother and "fighting about ending" Arenda McCulla's life, "which caused a lot of yelling. He also expressed desires of other ways to end her life which I found suspicious as her wishes were for her to be transported to ... Oregon."

Ryder says his mother and McCulla had marital problems in the past, including the months leading up to her initial cancer diagnosis. Ryder filed a complaint with La Verkin police in 2022 about DeWayne McCulla's alleged actions.

"The loss of my mother and the traumatic event surrounding it left quite an imprint on my psyche as DeWayne was manipulating things behind the scenes, using guilt," he said.

Arenda McCulla
Arenda McCulla (Photo: GoFundMe)

Ryder says her mother left an abusive relationship in New York and when she arrived in Utah, then became involved in volunteering at a rehabilitation center for troubled teens.

"One of the joys of my life was watching her welcoming change from a therapist and now family friend that helped us grow closer to one another. My mother helped a woman going through a similar cancer journey who is now living and thriving with her family, someone who was initially diagnosed at stage 4 is now in remission," he said.

A week before her death, Ryder wrote an open letter to his mother on the fundraising page.

"Dear Mom: I think of all the things you have given me, Sacrifice, devotion, love and tears. Your heart, your mind, your energy and soul. You loved me with never failing love. You have given me strength and sweet security. You allowed me to be me. I will be losing my support, my light. In this darkness I will take your example and try to find light, even if just a ray, just enough to hold on, hold on to life."

A warrant was issued Wednesday for DeWayne McCulla's arrest.

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Pat Reavy interned with KSL NewsRadio in 1989 and has been a full-time journalist for either KSL NewsRadio, Deseret News or KSL.com since 1991. For the past 25 years, he has worked primarily the cops and courts beat.
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