Man Who Held Death Party Pleads Guilty to Criminal Neglect

NEW ULM (AP) -- A southwestern Minnesota man who said he threw a ``death party'' for his wife and gave her methamphetamine has pleaded guilty to criminal neglect.

Fifty-nine-year-old Duane Johnson entered the plea Monday in Brown County Circuit Court. A third-degree murder charge will be dismissed as part of a plea agreement with prosecutors.

Johnson told authorities he held a ``death party'' for his wife after she begged him to take her home from a nursing home to die. Sixty-nine-year-old Debra Johnson was found dead in their home last January. An autopsy showed she died of methamphetamine toxicity.

Prosecutors say the plea deal calls for a three-year prison sentence.

Sentencing guidelines call for a four-year term.

A judge will decide whether to approve the recommended sentence on Aug. 12.