Mary Terry: Wisconsin woman runs over husband while drunk driving before dragging body 48-feet down road
LAONA, WISCONSIN: A Laona woman facing homicide charges for allegedly striking her husband with a truck, dragging him down the road and killing him is set to stand trial after a judge ruled that enough evidence is available against her, WSAW reports.
Mary Terry, 48, was charged with first-degree intentional homicide and homicide by intoxicated use of a motor vehicle for the October 19, 2023 death of her husband Donald Britten Jr. Terry had a blood alcohol level nearly four times the legal limit, according to Fox 11.
Marry Terry was intoxicated before killing her husband Donald Britten Jr
Mary Terry is accused of hitting her husband with a truck, dragging him down the road, and killing him while having a blood alcohol level nearly four times the legal limit.
According to WSAW, police were called to a scene on Linden Road (US 8) in October last year for a man lying in the roadway. When a deputy arrived, medical treatment was started while Terry repeatedly asked if Britten was dead.
Terry initially informed the police that she saw her truck on the street when she was at home.
After approaching the truck and failing to spot Britten, she drove back to her residence to get her phone and left the area.
She refuted that she had hit Britten with the truck. After a preliminary breath test, the driver's blood alcohol content (BAC) was found to be 298, nearly four times higher than the .08 legal limit.
Additionally, a blood test was conducted, yet the complaint makes no mention of the test's outcomes.
Terry spoke with police once more the next day. This time, she claimed, the two got into a fight about her bar, Barb's Place, while they were driving the truck.
Britten dropped her off at home and kept driving.
48-feet drag marks led cops to Donald Britten's body
The complaint for Terry read, "The defendant advised that a little while later, she was looking out of her North-facing large window and saw her truck parked up the road. The defendant said she ran up the road and the driver’s side door was open and the truck was running. The defendant said the decedent was next to the truck, injured."
It added, "The defendant said that she then drove the truck back to her house and got her phone to call 911 (the defendant did not acknowledge not getting her phone as she did the night before)… The defendant said that she went back up to where the decedent was and there was someone on the phone with police. The defendant, again, denied hitting the decedent with her truck."
Damage to the truck “appeared to be consistent with the injury the decedent sustained to his back, and right shoulder. Below the angle iron were two dents, which were consistent heights of the decedent’s 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 states.
The complaint states that 48 feet of drag marks were discovered by police before finding Britten's body.
The autopsy revealed that compression-related blunt force trauma was the initial cause of death. Terry is expected to enter a plea on February 22 in response to her accusations.
