Murder charge dropped against nurse accused of staging husband’s suicide

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Steven HaferÂs wife was charged with his murdered. Tu Huynh called 911 and said her husband killed himself. But once investigators got inside their home, they say, they found other evidence pointing to murder. Huynh, 29, was arrested for shooting and killing her husband. less

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Harris County prosecutors on Wednesday dropped a murder charge against the registered nurse accused of killing her husband in February.

Thu Thien Huynh, 29, was accused of using a shotgun to murder her husband, Steven Hafer, and then calling 911 and reporting it as a suicide. Initially, investigators grew suspicious of the former MD Anderson Cancer Center nurse when she started changing her story.

The shotgun seemed to be wiped clean of prints and during the course of the investigation, Huynh admitted to having an affair with an ex-boyfriend.

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But this week, the Harris County District Attorney’s Office dropped its case against Huynh, who was already out on bail.

“Investigators make tough decisions at crime scenes. After further review of the evidence, the medical examiner has concluded this was a suicide, not homicide,” prosecutor David Mitcham said in a statement.

“Based on the evidence, we filed a motion that was signed by a judge and the charge has been dismissed. Whatever first impressions may be, ultimately decisions are based on the evidence.”

Officials did not immediately offer information about what sparked the change.