CRANDON, WI – A Wisconsin woman admitted guilt to a lesser charge after initially being accused of intentionally killing her husband in a drunken driving incident last fall.

Mary Jane Terry, 50, originally faced a first-degree intentional homicide charge stemming from the October 19, 2023, death of her husband, Donald Britten Jr. Terry reportedly struck Britten with her truck and dragged his body along the road, a tragic event that shook the small Forest County community.

According to the criminal complaint, a neighbor was alarmed by a strange sequence of noises that night—brake lights reflecting into his home followed by a “prolonged thud” and a sound resembling a body being dragged. That noise, described as a “doo, doo, doo, doo” sound, was later identified as Britten’s body being towed by Terry’s vehicle.

Upon arriving at the scene, Forest County Sheriff’s Deputy William Stanley, a longtime acquaintance of both Terry and Britten, identified the body. Terry was visibly shaken and repeatedly asked Stanley if her husband was dead, reflecting the night’s grim atmosphere.

Terry originally told authorities that she was unaware of who was driving the truck that hit Britten. Yet, as the investigation progressed, she conceded to driving the vehicle to retrieve her phone without admitting to striking her husband.

Officers conducting a field sobriety test on Terry noted she exhibited signs of intoxication, and a breath test revealed a blood alcohol concentration of 0.298, nearly four times the state’s legal limit. Further reinforcing suspicions, Terry’s narrative evolved repeatedly during police questioning, clouding her version of the events leading up to the crash.

On January 6, Terry entered a guilty plea for homicide by intoxicated use of a vehicle, leading to the dismissal of the intentional homicide charge as part of her plea agreement. The change in charges marks a significant development in a high-profile case rooted in personal tragedy and community concern about impaired driving.

Terry is slated to receive her sentence on May 16. The community awaits the court’s decision, anticipating closure in a case that unveiled the dangers of alcohol-impaired driving while reopening conversations about accountability and justice.