Man charged for wife's suicide using his gun

A resident of Norwalk, Conn., has been charged with second-degree manslaughter after his wife committed suicide using his .32-caliber handgun.

Steven Bartush pleaded not guilty to second-degree manslaughter Friday in State Superior Court in Stamford, reports the New York Times.

According to the arrest warrant, 32-year-old Joan Bartush shot herself in October 2001 with one of her husband's licensed handguns.

So why is Steven Bartush, father of a 3-year-old daughter, being prosecuted for his wife's suicide?

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According to the Times, he is charged with contributing to his wife's suicide by leaving the gun – which was in a dresser drawer – too accessible to his wife two days after she arrived home from Silver Hill, a New Canaan psychiatric hospital. Police claim he had assured hospital personnel that his wife wouldn't have access to the gun.

The arrest warrant affidavit claims Steven Bartush ignored warnings from hospital staff and family members to remove guns from his apartment, and that he knew about his wife's depression and a failed suicide attempt, reports the Associated Press.

"She made the ultimate decision, tragic as it was, to take her own life," Neal Rogan, Bartush's attorney, told WTNH-TV. "At the time Joan Bartush was released from that hospital, she was not suicidal according to the diagnosis."

The affidavit also said Steven Bartush told authorities the couple's relationship was good, and that she seemed better after her treatment, reported AP.

Bartush was arrested Oct. 7, and is currently free on bond.