Wife gets 30 years for anti-freeze poisoning
Written: 28th February, 2008
LONDON (Reuters) - A housewife was jailed for 30 years on Thursday for trying to murder her husband by lacing his wine and takeaway curry with anti-freeze, police said.
Kate Knight, 28, poisoned 37-year-old Lee Knight at their Staffordshire home on their seventh wedding anniversary in an attempt to use his life insurance to pay off debts.
A jury at Stafford Crown Court found her guilty of attempted murder last month.
Her husband was left blind and partially deaf and suffered kidney failure after emerging from a 16-week coma.
After sentencing, Detective Constable Martin Smith, who led the inquiry, said Knight had "cynically and ruthlessly" plotted to murder her husband.
"Even when Lee was critically ill, she kept secret from doctors what had caused the condition," he said.
Prosecutors said Knight wanted to claim her husband's 130,000-pound life insurance policy and a death-in-service payment from his employer.
The court heard how she searched the Internet for information on "liver damage" and the number of Ecstasy tablets needed to overdose.
She finally chose to poison her husband with anti-freeze, which contains the toxic chemical ethylene glycol.
Source Reuters.com