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Husband Who Admitted To Strangling Wife Who Wanted To Leave Him Dies By Suicide In Prison
Joshua Fury had been awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty to the murder of his wife, Maria Pew Weimelt.
The Minnesota man who was due to be sentenced at the end of this week for killing his wife hanged himself in his cell over the weekend.
Joshua Fury, 29, died by suicide at Hennepin County Jail on Saturday night, according to local outlet the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Fury had pleaded guilty on July 15 to killing his wife Maria Fury, née Maria Pew Weimelt.
The Maple Grove resident had already confessed to the killing in May following his arrest, according to previous reports. Fury had initially reported his wife missing and claimed she had disappeared after he left for work on April 30 — telling police that she had left behind her phone and that he couldn't find her after searching her walking routes.
Police investigated and uncovered that the couple was undergoing a number of problems in their marriage. Maria’s mother told police that her daughter was planning to leave Joshua.
Investigators then obtained a search warrant and dug through the Fury home — finding Maria's body stuffed into a crawlspace. The medical examiner later ruled that she died from asphyxiation from duct tape and a plastic bag that had been placed over her mouth and nose.
After giving a number of conflicting statements to police following the discovery of his wife's body, Fury admitted to the killing and told investigators he had strangled his wife the morning of April 30 following an argument where Maria told him she planned to leave him.
The Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s office reported that Fury died of ligature hanging, and the manner of death was ruled a suicide, according to a news release from the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office. He was alone in his cell when he hanged himself.
Charging documents in the case previously stated that Fury unsuccessfully attempted to kill himself after murdering his wife on April 30.
Fury was expected to be sentenced on Friday to 38 years due to an agreement between his attorneys and Hennepin County prosecutors.
An online jail record still exists for Fury, noting that he has been "released from custody" due to the fact that he is dead.
The state Department of Corrections will be reviewing Fury's death, but no additional information will be released at this time, the sheriff's office said in its release.
The Maple Grove Police Department and Maria's Voice, a Facebook page set up by her family to honor the woman's memory, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
