Welcome back to the ninth and final episode in the trial of Megan Sundwall. On March 24, 2026, Megan was convicted of manslaughter and obstruction of justice. Two weeks of trial, 17 witnesses, over 100 exhibits, 10 hours of jury deliberations. The prosecution said that she planned this for over five years. Text messages where she asked about dosing, offered to come and help, brought insulin home from work, a seven-hour vigil where she checked her blood sugar and alleged 19 times and never called 911, a jail call where Megan allegedly said, I knew what she was doing, and 283 deleted text messages. The defense said that every forensic test came back negative, empty. No DNA on the syringes, no fingerprints, no insulin found in the syringes, no lab apparently in America that could test for insulin in the blood, a medical examiner who ruled the manner of death undetermined, and a victim who lied to everyone in her life for over a decade. She faked having cancer, faked being on hospice, stole $68,000 from her grandparents, and a life insurance policy that she dangled like a carrot in front of everybody. But the policy never existed. The prosecutor said the victim was never suicidal. They went all for nothing on aggravated murder. But the jury wasn't having that. The jury returned a verdict of not guilty of aggravated murder, but guilty of manslaughter and obstruction of justice. Today, I'm covering the sentencing hearing of Megan Sundwall. Welcome back to Nurses Uncorked. Welcome to Nurses Uncorked, where I pour out the unfiltered truth about health care life. I'm your host, Nurse Erica, serving up real talk straight from the front lines to your ears. Each episode, I'm uncorking conversations that matter to nurses everywhere, from the hilarious to the heartbreaking, the inspiring to the infuriating. No filters, just authentic nursing experience shared with a splash of humor and a dose of honesty. So grab your favorite beverage, put your feet up. I know they're tired. And join me as we uncork another episode of Healthcare Reality. Now let's get this shift started. Guys, today, May 4th, 2026, was the sentencing hearing for Megan Sunwall. And as I told you in the last episode, I did everything to try and live stream that. But there was fuckery afoot. I don't know what the issue was, but all of these platforms that had been live streaming the entire trial, not a damn one of them live streamed the sentencing hearing. It was bizarre. And when I tell you, I went on court TV, I went on law and crime TV, I went on all the local Utah news networks. I even asked ChatGPT, where the hell is the sentencing hearing? I kept checking the judge's court calendar, the docket, and it kept saying it was scheduled for 8.30 this morning on May 4th. Well, 8.30 came and went, 9.30, 10.30 came and went, nothing. I kept refreshing. I tried to go live this morning. For a while, they did have on court TV a screen that said the sentencing of Megan Sundwall coming up next, something like that. And then it just inexplicably disappeared. Disappeared. OK, I was getting so frustrated. Then one Utah news station reported the sentencing went through. And we're going to get to that in just a minute. But there was no video. And I kept searching and searching and searching for a video. I finally found a video after doing a deep dive and it was sort of on YouTube, sort of connected to Court TV, but not exactly. I sent it to myself. I was trying to get it to download so that I could upload it into this podcast episode. And as I was doing it, the video disappeared and it said, page not found. You guys, I panicked because I only had about the maybe first third of it saved. and I really wanted to get everything the judge said on video. Well, I had it open at that point on like three different pages and screens. I had it on my phone in an email. I had it on two different pages open on my laptop. So it disappeared on one. I went to the other. It was gone on that one too, but it was still playing on one link on my phone. And then that one went away and then the other one came back. Anyway, long story short, I ended up having to record the sentencing from my phone from my laptop. So it's not going to be the best quality. I'm going to do what I can to get it uploaded and spliced into this episode. But Megan Sunwall was there. She did speak to the court today. And she was in handcuffs and shackles. And she was wearing the orange jumpsuit. That was the first time that we have ever seen her like that. Throughout the entire trial she was wearing typically some floral print dresses the entire time She was in custody during the whole trial but of course when the jury was present you know she was wearing regular clothes so as not to prejudice them against her. She looked different, of course, in a jail orange jumpsuit and shackles. Well, she did address the court. I think Sunwell does want to speak. Thank you. Sunwell. Thank you, Your Honor. I'm grateful for this opportunity. In open court to apologize, especially to Casey's family for what happened. As I said in my statement, if it wasn't for my role, Casey likely would still be alive. She was loved by so many, I think even more than she realized. friends, family, co-workers, associates and that her death hurt a lot of people my role hurt a lot of people and that includes my family and my son as well of course but whether I believed that she was suffering so immensely or not, encouraging her and supporting her in committing suicide was morally wrong and I'm so sorry I know these are just words and they can't bring her back, but I am truly so sorry for the role that I played in her death. I wish I could take it back. I'm just so sorry. Thank you. This matter does come before the court for purposes of sentencing. She said, whether I believed that Casey was suffering so immensely or not, I encouraged her and supported her in committing suicide, and that was morally wrong. And I'm so sorry for that. I know these are just words and they can't bring her back, But I am truly so sorry for the role that I played in her death. I wish I could take it back. If it wasn't for my role, C likely would still be alive. Did she seem sincere to me? Yes, she did. She did. The judge started out referencing the pre-sentencing report that he had received that has the recommendations for sentencing and also statements that were submitted by Megan herself and also by Casey's family, I think even from some of Megan's family and supporters. He referenced Uncle Mark's statement, and he thanked him for being sympathetic to Megan Sundwall's family, which I was not aware of, and I think that's amazing. And the judge said to Megan, it's clear, Ms. Sundwall, that you are supported by many people in this community, and that will help you in life. He then went on to say, I'm not sure how you got to this point. It does seem like it was a very, very dysfunctional relationship. And then he did read Megan Sunwall's pre-sentencing statement to the judge that she sent to the judge. He read that out loud to the court. The whole thing lasted about 15 minutes. All in all, it wasn't very long. And at the end, the judge rendered his sentence. As for sentencing, I have had a chance to review the pre-sentence report as prepared by AP&P. I will note for the recommendation that is provided by AP&P is one for imprisonment. And based upon the information and evidence before the court, that is what I am going to order. As to the count of manslaughter, a second degree felony, I will sentence you to a term in the Utah State Prison of one to 15 years. As to the count of obstruction of justice, a third degree felony, I will sentence you to a term in the Utah State Prison of zero to five years. Based upon the circumstances and facts before the court, having reviewed having been through viewed the evidence in trial and reviewed the pre-sentence report I am going to order that those counts will each run concurrent to each other I will also make a recommendation to the board that you be given credit for time served but ultimately that's going to be up to the board all I can do is make a recommendation it will also be up to the board to make the determination of how much time you actually have to serve I don't get to make that decision either I can only impose the maximum and the board takes it from there but this is a case where a prison is warranted based upon the facts and circumstances before the court Ms. Sundwall, I want to tell you that your story doesn't end here. You're going to get out of prison, and you're going to live your life. For the charge of manslaughter, Judge Peterson sentenced Megan Sundwall to 1 to 15 years in prison. 1 to 15 years. And then for the obstruction of justice charge, the judge sentenced her to 0 to 5 years in Utah State Prison. The two sentences to run concurrently. So that means a maximum of 15 years at the most. Now, that confused the heck out of me. I could not figure out why this broad range of years. Like, what is that? Why can't the judge make a decision? I mean, we already knew that it carried 1 to 15 years. So what did he even decide? It made no sense to me. So I did a little research, and this is what I found. Utah judges sentence offenders to a range of years rather than a fixed amount because they utilize an indeterminate sentencing system in Utah. This structure is designed to give the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole, not the judge, the authority to determine the exact release date based on inmates' behavior and rehabilitation efforts. The system allows for flexibility and it incentivizes good behavior in inmates. The core idea is that an offender's readiness for release can only be truly evaluated after they have spent some time in prison. So that made a little more sense to me. Okay, now let's look at the time. He also gave her credit for time served. She was arrested in, I believe it was August of 2025. So assuming she has been in custody this entire time, that's about eight months time served, right? Now he sentenced her one to 15 years. So theoretically, she could go to prison and do another four months, totaling one year, and then technically be eligible for parole because that would be the minimum, right? One to 15 years. I think that's probably unlikely, but it's possible. Or she could be kept there for 15 years. She's 49 years old now. The judge did say to her in court today that she will get out of prison and she will continue to have a life. And he hopes that she will continue to do something with her life. Because he was commenting, praising her for being a really wonderful person, by all reports, prior to meeting Casey Terry. That she was always a caregiver and taking care of everybody. So what is that? About 64 years old? If she were to do the maximum amount of time, I don't think that she will. Maybe she'll do a couple of years and get out. Who knows? But it does seem like there is at least quite a bit of flexibility there. I wasn't aware that there were states that did it that way. So it's pretty interesting. Now, of course, Kylie, Casey's sister, was there and she requested the maximum possible sentence. Of course. Of course she did. She also showed up to court with a big poster that had a collection of pictures of Casey on the poster and held it up. And, you know, I've been very critical of her, of Kylie, but I do recognize her sister is dead as a result of this, you know, and so to draw attention to the victim, I think that's okay. That wasn't necessarily inappropriate. But then she did state she believes the defense made her sister look horrible throughout the trial. Ah, babe. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. Casey did that all herself okay they didn't need to try to make Casey look crazy she had you she had her entire family convinced that she was dying of cancer for years that she was on hospice that she had a whole fictitious hospice team she kept dead relatives phones active so that she could continue this whole facade. She stole money. She did drugs. Like, girl was a hot mess. And she talked about suicide on a daily basis for years, okay? So please do not insult her intelligence by insinuating that the defense just made her look really bad. No, she made herself look that bad, okay? She was batshit crazy. Let's not forget. In any case, Megan sat pretty stoically throughout the sentencing. She was standing at the podium when she was addressing the court, but then she was sitting down for the actual sentencing. She did not cry, as far as I could tell. She did not really appear emotional She looked pretty stoic If anything I think she looked worried but there wasn an overt display of emotion And then after the sentencing portion they did schedule a hearing for June 1st regarding the restitution portion of it. I believe the restitution component, they didn't specify it today, but from the conviction hearing, I think that was about $2,500. So I'm not sure why they need to schedule a hearing about the restitution. But I'll definitely follow up on that and let you guys know after June 1st. They also said that they have to address the continuous protective order. And they didn't go into any more detail. So I'm very curious about that. Who is the continuous protective order from or about? I mean, presumably, it's to keep Megan away, I guess, from Casey's family, but she's literally in custody. So why do we need a protective order? And why is this the first we're hearing about it? I'm very curious about that. I'd really like to know, is it maybe for someone in Megan's family? I'm just not sure. I wish they would have explained that a little bit more. Okay, then in my research, I happened to come across an article that had a statement from the police department chief, Brian Graham, after the verdict was rendered. He actually made a public statement that said in part, The jury has returned a guilty verdict on charges of manslaughter and obstruction of justice. We appreciate the jury's thoughtful deliberation and commend the prosecutors for their diligent efforts in bringing this case forward. Now get this. He said, The officers and detectives of the Lone Peak Police Department conducted a thorough and deliberate investigation of this incredibly complex and difficult case. I want to recognize their efforts, along with our law enforcement partners and prosecutors with the Utah County Attorney's Office, for their commitment to just following the facts and presenting the case. Really? They did an amazing job? Is that the narrative that we're putting out there after all of the evidence and experts disputed that and said basically that they effed up the entire investigation? Again and again and again? I don't know. I just thought that was surprising yet not surprising, considering everything in this trial, right? So now my question is, are we taking bets on how long until Netflix or someone picks this up as a movie of the week? Because it has to be, right? It has to be. There's never been a case this insane before with so many twists and turns. I'm hoping that Netflix does pick this up because it would be absolutely fascinating to see it sort of played out in that fashion. But there we are, guys. We have gone all the way through from pretrial motions through the opening statements, all of the witnesses, all those days of testimony, through the verdict, and now to the sentencing. Megan Sunwall has been sentenced to 1 to 15 years for manslaughter and 0 to 5 years for obstruction of justice to be served concurrently at Utah State prison. What do you guys think? Is this shocking? Is this disappointing? Is this about what you expected? What do we think? This will more than likely be the last episode in this series, but if there is something that comes up of interest, like from that restitution hearing or an appeal or something like that, I will do another update for you guys. That's it. Thank you for sticking with me through this true crime journey. This isn't exactly my first time breaking down a trial. I did attend the Redondavotte case, the entire trial and the sentencing in person in Nashville, Tennessee years ago. And I have kind of always been on the periphery paying attention to nursing cases out there. But this is the first time I've really done it in this format. And so it was a joy and it was a labor of love. Now, now I need a nap. Okay. That being said, I probably will do it again in the future. I have mentioned a couple of cases that I'm interested in that are coming down the pike. So stay tuned for all of that. Sarika, and this has been the trial of Megan Sundwall on Nurses Uncorked podcast. If you like what I've been doing here, consider becoming a patron of the show. There is a link in the show notes. Until next time on Nurses Uncorked.
