CRANDON (WSAW) - A sentencing hearing is set for May for a woman accused of causing her husband's death while she operated a vehicle with a blood alcohol level nearly four times the legal limit.
Mary Terry reached a plea agreement in her case earlier this month. She pleaded guilty to homicide by intoxicated use of a vehicle and was convicted as a result. In exchange for the guilty plea, a count of first-degree intentional homicide was dismissed.
According to court documents, Terry was accused of hitting her husband, Donald Britten Jr. with a truck and dragging him down the road. Britten died of his injuries. The incident happened on Oct. 19, 2023.
According to WLUK-TV, police were called to a scene on Linden Road (U.S. 8) for a man lying in the roadway. At first, Terry told police she was at home and noticed her truck on the street. She walked up to the truck, did not see Britten, drove the truck back to her house to get her phone, and then returned to the scene. She denied striking Britten with the truck.
A preliminary breath test at the scene showed BAC of .298.
Police talked to Terry again the next day. This time, she said the two had been driving in the truck and got into an argument about her bar, Barb's Place.
According to the criminal complaint, damage to the truck "appeared to be consistent with the injury the Britten sustained to his back, and right shoulder. Below the angle iron were two dents, which were consistent heights of his upper torso and hips. Below those two dents, were two impressions in the dust of the bumper of what appeared to be legs/fabric patterns," the complaint stated.
Police found drag marks of 48 feet leading up to Britten's body, according to the complaint.
The preliminary cause of death was blunt force trauma caused by compression, the autopsy showed.