Utah Nurse Sentenced to Prison for Role in Friend’s Fatal Insulin Overdose
Why It Matters
The case has drawn attention across the Intermountain West as a troubling example of how a trusted medical professional used her knowledge to allegedly facilitate a death for financial gain. The conviction and sentencing of a licensed nurse for manslaughter raises serious questions about accountability in cases where medical expertise becomes a tool for harm rather than healing.
What Happened
A Utah nurse was sentenced Monday to prison after a jury found her guilty of manslaughter in the insulin overdose death of her close friend. Meggan Sundwall, 49, of Santaquin, was ordered by Fourth District Judge Sean Petersen to serve a term of one to 15 years in prison for manslaughter, a second-degree felony, along with zero to five years for obstruction of justice, a third-degree felony. The judge ordered both sentences to be served concurrently.
The victim, Kacee Terry, 38, of Highland, Utah, was found unresponsive by her uncle in her bedroom on August 12, 2024, following a fatal insulin overdose. Sundwall, her parents, and Terry were present in the room at the time. Sundwall actively discouraged calling 911, according to prosecutors. Terry was hospitalized in a diabetic coma and later taken off life support.
Sundwall had originally been charged with aggravated murder, but a jury returned a guilty verdict on the lesser charge of manslaughter on March 24. Prosecutors argued Sundwall was in control during the overdose and believed she stood to benefit from a seven-figure life insurance policy. The defense contended there was no direct proof Sundwall administered any insulin and argued the death could have been a suicide.
In the Courtroom
Standing before the judge in an orange jumpsuit with her hands cuffed, Sundwall offered an apology to Terry’s family. “I wish I could take it back,” she said. “Whether I believed that she was suffering so immensely or not, encouraging and supporting her in committing suicide is morally wrong, and I’m so sorry.”
Judge Petersen said he was troubled by the nature of the relationship between Sundwall and Terry, calling it “extremely dysfunctional.” He noted that Sundwall’s life prior to the crime appeared full of service to others. “This is a tragedy that never needed to happen, it just didn’t,” he said from the bench.
Terry’s sister, Kylee Clark, delivered an emotional victim impact statement and brought a poster of photos of her sister to the courthouse. She told Sundwall directly: “You do not deserve to call her a friend, and especially not a sister.” Clark alleged that Sundwall had encouraged and supplied insulin to Terry on multiple occasions over the course of years, and that Sundwall was searching for flights and beach vacations while Terry was dying. Clark also said Sundwall reached out to her to verify whether a life insurance policy existed — and that she told Sundwall no such policy existed, but Sundwall “chose not to listen.”
“Money is evil, and she only saw the dollar signs,” Clark said. “Meggan took advantage of someone that was mentally broken, somebody that only wanted to be loved.”
By the Numbers
- 1 to 15 years — prison term for manslaughter, a second-degree felony
- 0 to 5 years — additional sentence for obstruction of justice, served concurrently
- 10 to 12 hours — the amount of time Sundwall was present with Terry before her death, according to prosecutors
- August 12, 2024 — the date Terry was found unresponsive
- March 24 — the date the jury returned its manslaughter guilty verdict
Zoom Out
The case echoes other high-profile Utah criminal proceedings in recent years. A judge also denied a request by Kouri Richins to have her sentencing postponed in a separate Utah case involving alleged poisoning and financial motivation — another example of state prosecutors taking an aggressive stance in crimes where monetary gain is alleged to have driven lethal action.
Prosecutors in the Sundwall case called it one of the most severe manslaughter cases they had seen, citing prolonged involvement and financial motivation. Deputy Utah County Attorney Lauren Hunt told the judge: “This was not mercy, this was prolonged encouragement and facilitation. This was not a moment… this was a multiyear pattern.”
As assisted death and end-of-life legal questions continue to evolve nationally, cases like this one underscore the legal and moral lines courts are expected to enforce. Utah has seen other violent crimes in public settings recently, adding to a broader public safety conversation across the state.
What’s Next
Sundwall will be committed to the custody of the Utah Department of Corrections to begin serving her sentence. With concurrent terms, her release eligibility will be determined by parole board review within the one-to-15-year window for the manslaughter conviction. Her defense attorney had requested probation or reduced jail time, arguing the jury’s manslaughter verdict did not warrant a full prison sentence — a request the judge rejected.
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