Eden Prairie Man Charged With Aiding Suicide
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- The Eden Prairie man who was arrested in connection with the death of his wife last week has been charged with aiding a suicide.
Police say they responded to a call about a woman who was unresponsive at an Eden Prairie residence in the early hours of Aug. 16. When officers arrived, they found the victim dead with another person, later identified as 61-year-old Thomas Houck, inside the home.
Houck told dispatchers he awoke in the middle of the night to find his wife had "euthanized herself," adding that she had used nitrogen and was lying in bed with a plastic bag over her head.
The complaint says a handwritten note was located near the victim, saying she couldn't endure anymore pain.
Investigators say Houck changed his story about what happened several times, but eventually he admitted he was with his wife when she put the bag over her head and he turned on the nitrogen gas, holding the bag in place.
He later drove to a store nearby and threw the gloves he was wearing away in a dumpster.
Houck is currently being held at the Hennepin County Jail on $70,000 bail.
His first court appearance is set for Tuesday.
