At the Hospital, Allan Kustok Told 2 Versions of How His Wife Died

Allan Kustok told two different stories about his wife's death the night he brought her body to Palos Community Hospital.

Hospital staffers took the witness stand Monday and shared their interactions with Kustok, accused of shooting his wife Anita "Jeanie" Kustok to death on Sept. 29, 2010.

Nurse Patricia Fleming testified that Kustok was in the bathroom when he heard "an explosion" and then he found his wife dead in their bed. Prior to that, Kustok told the nurse, he'd wandered around the house after his wife told him she'd heard a noise.

Kustok told the emergency room doctor, Elizabeth Hatfield, the gunshot woke him up and he found his wife dead next to him in the bed. More than an hour would pass before Kustok brought his wife's body, wrapped in bloody sheets, to the hospital.

“I asked why he didn’t call the paramedics,” testified Hatfield. “He didn’t want the commotion associated with the police and the paramedics.”

Prosecutors seized on this delay.

"Did the fact Mrs. Kustok was not brought in for some time after she was shot hamper your ability to give life-saving treatment?" asked Assistant State's Attorney Jennifer Gonzales.

"Yes," Hatfield replied

Hatfield and Fleming both testified that Kustok appeared detached and "aloof" at times and at other times was "sobbing" and punching walls in the hospital.

Defense attorney Richard Beuke said the witness testimony differed from their written versions of the night's events, reports the Chicago Tribune.