Posted: Oct 28, 2009 7:06 PM EDT
Updated: Oct 28, 2009 7:06 PM EDT
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Court documents detail investigation into murder charges against EMT
Ashley Whitehead (Source: Family photo)
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By Connie Leonard - bio | email
Posted by Charles Gazaway - email
LOUISVILLE, KY (WAVE) - A Louisville EMT is accused of playing doctor and causing his the death of his chronically ill wife. New court documents are shedding a revealing light on what led investigators to file murder charges.
What stands out in almost 250 pages of discovery is Michael Whitehead's admission to police that he stole IV fluids from his employer and used them on his wife Ashley, that Michael Whitehead had choked Ashley in the past, and even admitted that he told co-workers he "would kill his wife."
On March 26, 2009, Whitehead called 911 from his apartment at 1726 Bonnyville Boulevard about the possible accidental overdose of his 24-year-old wife. When help arrived, Ashley Whitehead was in cardiac arrest and was taken to St. Mary and Elizabeth Hospital where she later died. According to court documents, Whitehead told LMPD Detective Scott Russ that his wife had Crohn's disease and was on pain medication.
In the couple’s residence, police found a prescription bottle for Dilaudid for Ashley, but all 120 pills were gone. The coroner discovered needle marks on Ashley Whitehead’s feet and arms and said she died from a lethal combination of Phenegran and Hydrocodone.
Russ, a former EMT himself, began interviewing several of Whitehead's co-workers at Yellow Ambulance. One stated to Russ, that Whitehead pulled out a knife at work and told people his wife "didn't love him anymore and he should go kill his wife or kill himself." An employee who filed sexual harassment claims against Whitehead said there was a known concern about his mental status. She told police Whitehead would come up from behind, grab her breasts and say "he would kill his wife to be with her." Another employee said the harassment included Whitehead sending her a picture of his penis.
On April 22, Russ interviewed Whitehead again. According to court records, it was during that interview when Whitehead allegedly admitted that he had been using IV’s on his wife for six months prior to her death, stole everything he used, and had even choked his wife in the past. On July 29, a friend of Whitehead's told police that Whitehead confided in her that he could get charged with murder. According to the police documents, when she asked him why, she claims Whitehead said he had given his wife medications in the IV, including crushed pills, but said it was evidence police would never find it because he hid it.
The woman stated she saved a file on her laptop about their chat. She also said Whitehead asked her to delete the files off his computer hard drive, but she refused. In August, search warrants were served at Whitehead's grandmother's home in Jeffersonville, Indiana to get his computer.
Ashley Whitehead’s father tells WAVE 3 that all the medication Ashley was willingly on was "prescription only" and says the evidence in this case “speaks for itself."
Copyright 2009 WAVE-TV and Raycom Media. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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