A Doctor via Day and Musician via Night — 'Dateline' Examines the Murder of Buddy McCutcheon

May 13 2022, Published 4:21 p.m. ET

Frank "Buddy" McCutcheon's obituary tells the tale of a talented surgeon who, in his spare time, used to be an avid musician ready to play a couple of instruments. He beloved historical past, and particularly, was fascinated by the United States Civil War. "He loved his family, he loved life, and he loved his patients, fellow colleagues, and doctors and will be missed by all," it also mentioned.

His obituary additionally stocks that he was once survived by way of a powerful family that consisted of siblings, nieces, and nephews. Perhaps most importantly, he left behind his glorious spouse Brenda. Or was once she? On the night of July 16, 2016, Buddy was once shot and killed in his home in Arden, N.C. Brenda claimed intruders broke into their home, discovered their gun, and murdered Buddy. A brand new episode of Dateline will inform a distinct story. So, where is Brenda McCutcheon now? Here's what we know.

Where is Brenda McCutcheon now?

The North Carolina Department of Public Safety lists Brenda McCutcheon as an inmate at Anson Correctional Institution in Polkton, N.C, where she is lately serving a existence sentence. Brenda was once admitted on Feb. 15, 2020, and except something tremendously adjustments, she'll keep there for the rest of her life. How did Brenda move from loving wife to convicted murderer? It used to be an overly bumpy road.

According to WLOS, simply after 3:30 a.m. at the morning of July 16, 2016, Buddy McCutcheon was shot to demise in the home he shared along with his spouse of 32 years, Brenda McCutcheon. When police arrived, Brenda instructed them someone had broken into their area, a space that was once located nearly in the course of nowhere, then situated the gun they kept in a drawer. That identical gun used to be used to kill Buddy and was later found tossed in some ivy in the couple's front yard. Brenda maintained she had not anything to do together with his demise.

How did authorities 0 in on Brenda McCutcheon as a suspect?

As a long way back as July 11, 2016, the North Carolina Department of Revenue (NCDOR) used to be investigating Buddy and Brenda "on possible charges of embezzlement and obtaining property by false pretenses," in keeping with WLOS. Specifically, Cosmetic Surgery of Asheville (Buddy's trade), was the focal point of the investigation. Their case had been sent to the felony department of the NCDOR who, 3 days earlier than Buddy's dying, served the couple with a court docket order, in line with Citizen Times.

Evidently, Brenda used to be accountable for that facet of the industry, and her signature was on the whole thing. This was once no longer her area of expertise, which is how issues were given so wildly out of keep an eye on. Once authorities figured this out, they have been alerted to a storage unit rented by Brenda that contained "55 boxes, some were labeled 'personal taxes' dating back to 2001 and others were labeled 'insurance claims.'"

After organising a reason and deciding that her tale in regards to the night time of her husband's murder was once flimsy at absolute best, Brenda was once arrested and indicted in November 2017 for first-degree murder. The prosecution leaned heavily on the tax problems, portray Brenda as a determined woman not able to fix her personal mistakes.

The protection identified the complete loss of proof on the crime scene. "No confirmable DNA belonging to Brenda on a gun found in the ivy outside their Arden home, and no fingerprints," stated WLOS. They also referenced the fact that Buddy had allegedly been engaged in more than one affairs all through his 30-plus years of marriage to Brenda. We're not positive why the protection would trot this out. Maybe they were suggesting a jilted lover killed Buddy?

Regardless, the protection's case was now not strong enough to persuade the jury of Brenda's innocence. On Feb. 14, 2020, (Valentine's Day, no much less), Brenda used to be found accountable of first-degree murder and used to be sentenced to lifestyles in prison. Tune into Dateline for a deeper glance into this tragic story.

Dateline airs Fridays at Nine p.m. on NBC.

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