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ST. GEORGE — A man who prosecutors say attempted to end his terminally ill wife's life by choking her has accepted a plea deal.

DeWayne McCulla, 46, pleaded guilty on Thursday in 5th District Court to an amended charge of attempted manslaughter, a third-degree felony. The charge comes with a domestic violence sentencing enhancement.

Arenda Lee McCulla, 47, died on Dec. 21, 2021, following her battle with breast cancer. The night before, however, as a small group of family members were by her side in La Verkin, DeWayne McCulla "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.

Other family members pulled McCulla off of his wife.

Anthony Michael Ryder, Arenda McCulla's son, filed a complaint with La Verkin police in 2022 about DeWayne McCulla's alleged actions. Police launched an investigation and McCulla was originally charged with attempted murder in December 2023.

Ryder tells KSL.com that he was opposed to the plea deal and hopes to have the opportunity to address the court when McCulla is sentenced on Dec. 12.

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Pat Reavy

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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.