Victim of love triangle-related crime dies 10 days later

(WJBK) - The victim of a love triangle who was hit by a truck and dragged just last week has died.

A family member driving a van suddenly noticed 33-year-old Nick Cutrubes in the passenger's seat had no pulse.

The man driving pulled into at a gas station at 16 Mile and Mound in Sterling Heights.

Firefighters rushed to the scene but could not revive him.

"I don't know how to function. I don't know what to tell my kids," said his wife, Jenna Cutrubes.

Jenna was married to Nick for the past 8 years and they have three young children together.

A police dash cam video from Oct. 3 shows Jenna on the left standing beside Nick as he lay motionless in the street.

He had just been dragged down the block by a Chevy pickup on Harding Street in Center Line in front of the Cutrubus' home.

Robert Blackburn of Hazel Park was arrested and charged with dragging Nick.

Nick spent two days in the hospital after he was dragged. He was discharged and then died 10 days later.

The autopsy is ruling the dragging incident did not contribute to Nick's death. The cause of death will be revealed when blood work and toxicology results are returned from the lab.

Jenna told police that Blackburn was her boyfriend.

"Me and Mr. Blackburn -- we've been dating for four years, Nicholas was fully aware of that," she said. "The reason me and Nicholas lived in a house together was for the sake of our three children."

Police say Nick got caught on the pickup door and Blackburn, knowing this, dragged him anyway.

"I believe that Robert was actually in a fight for his life trying to protect himself, "Jenna said. "Because Nicholas is a heavier set dude and I believe that ... Bobby thought that Nicholas was going to hurt him and he thought that by trying to move the vehicle, Nicholas would move away."

"He was very upset with his wife. He tried to make it work many times but she was in love with this Bobby," said Joyce Tyszkowski, Nick's grandmother.

Family members say they're anxiously awaiting toxicology tests to determine Nick's cause of death.