This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
A Millard County man was charged this week with manslaughter for allegedly causing the 2013 death of his estranged wife by providing her with vodka, knowing that combining alcohol with her medications could be fatal.
The whereabouts of 61-year-old Lee J. McIntyre, formerly of the central Utah town of Scipio, are currently unknown, and a warrant has been issued for his arrest.
Lee McIntyre is accused of causing the death of 58-year-old Janet McIntyre on Oct. 18, 2013.
He was charged Thursday in 4th District Court in Fillmore with second-degree felony manslaughter and class A misdemeanor tampering with evidence.
A medical examiner found that Janet McIntyre died of "acute ethanol and mixed drug toxicity," according to documents filed in 4th District Court in Fillmore.
Until 2013, Lee McIntyre and his wife had lived together in Scipio for about 40 years.
On Oct. 18, 2013, Millard County Sheriff's deputies arrived at Janet McIntyre's home to find her dead in the living room. Lee McIntyre explained that he had arrived a short time earlier and tried to revive her, according to the warrant affidavit.
A sheriff's sergeant learned that Janet McIntyre had been taking numerous medications for a variety of illnesses. A regular drinker for most of her adult life, her doctor had recently placed her on a strict alcohol restriction, since combining alcohol with her medications could be fatal, according to the affidavit.
Despite the restriction, Janet McIntyre asked her children, their spouses or her husband to bring her alcohol, the affidavit add. Lee McIntyre allegedly told his daughter-in-law that he bought "cheap vodka" for his wife within a week of her death. Forensic analysis of Janet McIntyre's phone showed that he knew about the restriction, but bought her the vodka the day before she died.
Lee McIntyre told investigators that after officers left his wife's home on the day she died, he found an empty bottle of vodka in the trash and threw it away at a nearby gas station. He later admitted supplying his wife with alcohol, but insisted that she only drank a small amount in his presence, according to the affidavit.
"There is probable cause to believe that Lee J. McIntyre recklessly caused [his wife's death]," the affidavit reads.
He knew about the restriction and had a "clear understanding" of the potential consequences, the affidavit adds. "There is also probable cause to believe that McIntyre tampered with evidence by removing the empty vodka bottle ... and disposing of it in a gas station dumpster."
Lee McIntyre's whereabouts are currently unknown. He had been living with his parents in California after his wife's death, but was last contacted in the Salt Lake City area. He refused to give officers his address for either state — insisting that he was homeless, according to the affidavit.
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