HOUMA – John Ahlf II says he stood by his wife, Mary, as she suffered through pain caused by a rare form of arthritis.

Sometimes, the 32-year-old offshore worker said, things got so bad she talked of suicide.

The 36-year-old, whose name was Mary but whom everyone called Becky, died May 14 at Terrebonne General Medical Center.

Now, Ahlf copes with her death, as well as accusations that he helped end her life. The exact cause of Becky Ahlf’s death has not been determined. Her husband has not been arrested or charged with any crime.

But Capt. Malcolm Wolfe, a spokesman for the Terrebonne Sheriff’s Office, confirmed Monday that John Ahlf is suspected of helping his wife end her life and that a formal complaint has been filed.

The Sheriff’s Office, Wolfe said, is in the midst of an investigation, but he would not provide further details.

Houma Courier

John Ahlf II, 32, pictured with his wife, Becky Ahlf, 36, is being investigated based on accusations that he assisted in her May 14th death.

CRIPPLING JOINT PAIN

State law describes assisting with a suicide as “the intentional advising or encouraging of another person to commit suicide or the providing of the physical means or the knowledge of such means to another person for the purpose of enabling the other person to commit or attempt to commit suicide.”

Anyone convicted of the crime faces up to 10 years in prison.

Ahlf said in the past he tried to prevent his wife from carrying out what he described as persistent suicide threats, arising from pain associated with Still’s disease. The crippling joint pains symptomatic of his wife’s disease, which she had endured since 2000, kept her from working and severely imited her social interaction, Ahlf said. In addition to her physical problems, she suffered from bipolar disorder, he said.

“She often said she was tired of living this way,” Ahlf said. “tired of living in pain all the time. She felt like it would be better off just ending it.”

Even on good days, Ahlf said, his wife could only perform a minimal amount of housekeeping before her pain flared up.

On rare occasions, the couple left their Houma apartment to visit family. But those days, he said, were few.

‘DID NOT WANT TO DIE’

The dead woman’s mother, June Bagala, argues that her son-in-law enabled such thoughts to manifest in her daughter’s mind and that he ultimately played a role in her death.

Becky, she said, overdosed on enough drugs to “kill a herd of cattle.” She insists her daughter did not ingest all the drugs by herself. “Becky did not want to die,” her mother said, adding she didn’t know whether the alleged overdose was caused by her daughter’s medication or something else. “She may have spoken about it, but she did not want to die. There’s no doubt in my mind … If he didn’t want to take care of her anymore, all he had to do was call me.”

Bagala, who lives in Cut Off, said officials with the Terrebonne District Attorney’s Office told her a grand jury would soon hear testimony against Ahlf, to determine if there is sufficient evidence to charge him with a crime.

AMAZING GRACE

In a May 4th conversation, Bagala said, her daughter told her she was planning to seek a new doctor and was optimistic. “When I spoke to her, she was fine,” Bagala said. “She did not speak of suicide.”

Because he is the target of a police investigation, Ahlf said, he does not wish to address the circumstances surrounding his wife’s death. He admitted the possibility of being arrested for the first time worried him. He added his faith in God has helped him survive the days since his wife’s death.

But sitting in the living room of his parents’ home in jeans and a T-shirt, he spoke at length about the torment his wife’s unrelenting pain caused during their marriage. Tired-looking eyes drifted as he searched for words, and he fidgeted with his cell phone, which blasted a ringtone version of “Amazing Grace” every time someone called.

“I’d rather have her here,” Ahlf said. “But the one saving grace about her not being here anymore is she’s in Heaven, and her body is perfect.”