Jury finds Santaquin nurse guilty of manslaughter, not murder, after death of her friend

PROVO — A Santaquin nurse, Meggan Sundwall, was found guilty of manslaughter and obstruction of justice Tuesday in her friend's insulin overdose death. She was found not guilty of aggravated murder as she was charged.

The jury was handed the case on Monday afternoon and returned to the courthouse on Tuesday, deliberating all day before the verdict was read at 5 p.m.

Kacee Lyn Terry, 38, of Highland, was found unresponsive by her uncle on Aug. 12 2024 with Sundwall sitting near her in her bedroom along with Sundwall's parents. She was hospitalized in a diabetic coma and was later taken off life support.

She and Sundwall had a long history of texts, including many shown during the trial, discussing Terry's plans to die by suicide using insulin.

Before being handed the case, the jury heard closing arguments from Scott Williams, Sundwall's attorney, who said the jury needed proof. He said this was not "Nancy Drew" or a reality TV show.

"Our system requires proof, not just a good stringing together of suspicious-looking things," he said.

He questioned why prosecutors did not think suicide was a possibility, and said it was a "classic example" of quasi suicide — or a suicide attempt that is not meant to end in death.

Williams said if Sundwall was intending to kill her friend, she would not have invited her parents over.

Lauren Hunt, deputy Utah County attorney, argued that the case boils down to who was in control and that Sundwall had that control.

"Ultimately what happened down in that basement on Aug. 12, 2024 was not chaos, it was not confusion, it was not a tragic misunderstanding, it was not a best friend merely helping out her other best friend in the whole world. This was control. And the person who was in control during that entire time frame sits at that table, Meggan Sundwall," she said.

She said Terry was not suicidal — she had made plans for future surgeries and was doing online shopping shortly before her death. She said she was seeking attention from her friend and told escalating lies to get that attention.

"The defendant was a nurse, she understood the vulnerability, she knew the lies, she recognized the control she had over Kacee, and yet she didn't treat this as a mental illness," Hunt said, citing texts between the two friends.

She said Sundwall escalated the situation and deliberately blocked her rescue, sitting with her while her condition worsened.

Sundwall will be sentenced on May 4.

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