HIGHLAND — A Santaquin registered nurse is accused of fatally poisoning her friend with insulin to get her life insurance money.
Meggan Randall Sundwall, 47, was arrested Thursday for investigation of aggravated murder and obstruction of justice in the death of Kacee Lyn Terry, 38.
A pair of court documents allege that over nearly five years and in thousands of text messages, Sundwall, who is a registered nurse, tried to convince Terry — who apparently believed she had cancer but was actually healthy, according to the medical examiner — to “end her suffering” by taking a fatal dose of insulin.
Evidence shows Sundwall believed she was the beneficiary of a “rumored $1.5 million life insurance policy held by Kacee,” according to a police booking affidavit filed in support of Sundwall’s arrest.
‘Do not resuscitate’ order
On Aug. 12, Lone Peak police and firefighters were dispatched to a medical emergency at 6608 W. Stevens Lane in Highland about 9 p.m. and, upon arrival, found Terry unresponsive.
Terry’s uncle told police he found her unconscious and struggling to breathe in her bedroom with Sundwall, according to a police booking affidavit.
The uncle asked Sundwall how long Terry had been like that, and she responded “a couple of hours,” the booking affidavit states. Terry’s uncle told police in his 911 call that Terry has “major, major health issues,” and it “sounds like she’s drowning.”
Sundwall told the uncle that Terry has a “do not resuscitate” medical order and that she did not want to go to the hospital, police said. But medical staff told police they could not locate a “do not resuscitate” order, and Sundwall had not been given power of attorney.
Officers on scene located a diabetic needle but noted that Terry is not diabetic, the affidavit states. Terry was taken to a Lehi hospital, and doctors determined her blood sugar level was 14, dangerously low.
While Terry was in the intensive care unit, her sister told the medical staff Terry was diagnosed with leukemia several years prior while she was roommates with Sundwall, according to a search warrant filed by police to obtain Sundwall’s cellphone.
“(Terry’s sister) stated that she moved Kacee out of the shared apartment and into her grandfather’s house where she lives now due to Kacee complaining about Meggan bringing insulin home and trying to talk Kacee into treatments to help end her suffering,” the search warrant states.
Sundwall would also have her father come to the house to give Terry “LDS ‘release blessings’ to help her pass on,” the search warrant states.
Terry never regained consciousness and was declared brain dead. She died a few days later on Aug. 15.
Terry’s obituary describes her as someone who dreamed of being a mother, and although she never had children of her own, “she filled the role of mom to many kids.”
“Kacee found great joy in helping people, she was introduced to a company called Chrysalis, where she got a job helping disabled adults, and often said it didn’t feel like she was working because she just loved everyone she was with,” the obituary says.
Terry “enjoyed being in the outdoors, hunting, camping and especially the sand dunes,” her family noted in the obituary.
The Office of the Medical Examiner confirmed Terry’s cause of death was an overdose of promethazine, probable exogenous insulin (meaning it was administered from outside the body), and other drugs.
Investigators interviewed a forensic pathologist, who said the only way to get a blood sugar level that low is through exogenous insulin. A blood glucose monitor found on scene showed 19 readings in 10 hours on Aug. 12, including the last three, which just said “Lo,” meaning below 19, police said.
“Kacee would have been unconscious and unable to test her own blood sugar at that time,” the police booking affidavit said. Police said Sundwall arrived at Terry’s home just before 10 a.m. then was discovered with Terry just after 9 p.m.
Prior to Sundwall’s arrival, she sent Terry a text that said: “Do you want to take some promethazine when I get there so that you are asleep when this is happening?” the police booking affidavit said. Sundwall texted her mother just before 2 p.m. saying she couldn’t get Terry to wake up.
“Meggan, a nurse, did not call for medical help for Kacee nor did she provide lifesaving care. It was another seven hours before Kacee’s uncle discovered her and called 911,” the arrest report states.
‘No cancer and no health problems’
“While getting information about Kacee’s medical history from her primary care physician, they were told that she never had cancer. The autopsy performed revealed no cancer and no health problems. There was nothing terminally wrong with Kacee Terry,” the police booking affidavit said.
Court documents do not disclose why Terry believed she had cancer.
“Detectives were told by Kacee’s family and friends that Meggan had been trying to kill Kacee, with insulin, for years. This theory was corroborated through digital evidence located on the victim’s phone,” police said.
Investigators discovered extensive text threads between Sundwall and Terry beginning in December 2019, consisting of more than 28,000 texts.
“Early texts between the two indicate that Meggan believed that Kacee was very sick. There are over four years of text messages detailing different ways Meggan would kill herself if she was Kacee and of Meggan offering to ‘help’ Kacee die,” the police booking affidavit said.
The texts also discuss how Sundwall and her husband were having money problems, and she lost her job, but the issues would be solved by Terry dying and Sundwall receiving the life insurance payout, according to the affidavit.
Evidence shows Sundwall was “continuously” searching for Terry’s life insurance policy after her death through calls and emails, and she deleted more than 900 texts from her phone to hide information, investigators said.
“Meggan Randall Sundwall is a licensed registered nurse who intentionally administered insulin to a nondiabetic. Meggan knew this would kill Kacee. Evidence shows that Meggan was having money problems and that this was done to improve her financial situation,” the police booking affidavit said.