Who Is Dr Frank McCutcheon From Asheville? Dateline Explores His Murder Case Along With Rare Footage

Dr. Frank McCutcheon was a plastic and cosmetic surgeon in Asheville. Because he was an Arkansas native, he was lovingly known as Buddy by those close to him.

An Asheville woman sentenced to life in prison for first-degree murder of her husband Dr. Frank McCutcheon, lost a court appeal bid. https://t.co/1RcTA25KXp

— The Citizen Times (@asheville) December 24, 2021

He graduated from the University of Arkansas with a medical degree in 1978 and completed residencies in Arkansas before establishing his practice in North Carolina.

According to the North Carolina Medical Board, his primary field of practice was plastic and reconstructive surgery. He claimed to have worked for the firm for more than 30 years on his website.

Brenda Kay Parker McCutcheon was charged with the murder of Dr. Frank McCutcheon in November 2018, and the court sentenced her to life in prison.

Dr. McCutcheon was a cosmetic surgeon in Ashville. They were married for 32 years after meeting and falling in love while still residents. Brenda left her work as a nurse to support Frank in his quest to become a plastic surgeon.

Buddy knew all about the people behind that famous line, “the day the music died.” Which, in Buddy's case, was a Friday night in July 2016.
We’ll tell his story tonight at 9/8c on an all-new #Dateline mystery. pic.twitter.com/xcXmsZrTrE

— Dateline NBC (@DatelineNBC) May 13, 2022

On July 16, 2016, soon after 3:30 a.m., Frank was discovered dead with a gunshot wound to the head at their Arden home on Tree Top Drive.

She explained that he was sleeping on the couch in the first-floor room because he enjoyed watching TV overnight but Brenda did not. She heard what she thought was thunder and smelled gunpowder when she walked downstairs at 3:30 a.m.

Brenda allegedly denied killing her husband or concealing the pistol found outside their home amid rows of ivy during an interview with investigators in 2016.

Buddy was brutally murdered by his wife, Brenda McCutcheon, on July 16, 2016. She shot her 32-year-old husband in the head during a state investigation into his practice for possible theft.

According to the Citizen-Times, Buddy and his wife, who worked at Cosmetic Surgery of Asheville at the time, were accused of keeping employees' withholdings and neglecting to pay them to the North Carolina Department of Revenue as taxes.

“I began to think this was going to be one of those cases that they never get an answer for…”

Oh, but they did… And we’ll tell you all about it Friday at 9/8c on an all-new #Dateline. pic.twitter.com/L5RDCOseRL

— Dateline NBC (@DatelineNBC) May 12, 2022

In North Carolina, misusing salary withholdings is considered embezzlement, and the couple was served with legal papers only days before his tragic death.

She was arrested and charged with his murder shortly after, however it is unclear whether the embezzlement accusations were the cause of his death. In February 2020, at the age of 69, a jury found her guilty and sentenced her to life in prison.

Brenda has maintained her innocence despite being found guilty, and she has now appealed the decision, claiming that the trial court made a basic error by admitting testimony from Buddy's brother revealing how Buddy's death affected him, according to court records obtained by ABC15 News.

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