An Indiana man has been sentenced in Wayne County Court after pleading guilty to aggravated battery for attempting to fatally poison his wife so he could marry her daughter.
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According to Fox 59, charges were filed against 71-year-old Alfred W. Ruf for numerous incidents starting in 2021 when his wife was hospitalized and tested positive for several illegal drugs she stated she did not take.
The elderly man allegedly admitted to authorities he had attempted to poison his wife in an attempt to kill her and marry her daughter.
Ruf’s wife first contacted nearby police in Jan. 2022 after she said he had admitted to trying to kill her with poison. She revealed she was hospitalized six times during the prior weeks with unexplained headaches, drowsiness, diarrhea, and other concerning symptoms.
Along with the symptoms, the woman said she tested positive for MDMA, cocaine, and benzodiazepines. She was denied ever using any of the drugs.
The wife provided police with a pill bottle full of off-white powdery substance. A Coca-Cola can was also discovered to have an off-white residue on it.
The Man Confessed to Local Sheriff Deputies to Poisoning His Wife
While his wife went through a blood and urine screening, Ruf was being interviewed by the local sheriff deputies. After stating he understood his Miranda Rights, Ruf allegedly confessed to poisoning his wife.
He told police his wife’s daughter from a previous marriage had given him “unknown substances” to poison the woman.
“Ruf stated that the substance would then make [his wife] go to sleep for approximately 13 hours or so,” court docs revealed. “He stated that he would do this to eventually kill her.”
Police further reported that Ruf explained how the daughter and a friend had told him to sprinkle the powder into the wife’s Coke can and wait for her to fall asleep. He then claimed that the daughter and friend would then come to Ruf’s house and “put on a show.” They would think have intercourse.
Ruf said he attempted to poison his wife a total of 12 times between Sept. 2021 and Dec. 2021. Her daughter and the friend would come over every time while she slept. “Ruf stated that he knew the substance would eventually kill his wife… and that it was [their] ultimate goal to kill her,” police reported.
Ruf admitted to his wife that he had been poisoning her on Jan. 3, 2022 “because he felt bad.”
He was arrested shortly after.
Ruf was sentenced to four years in prison and five years of probation. He was previously charged with conspiracy to commit murder, but that was dismissed. No further arrests have been made in the case. However, law enforcement stated it is still investigating the other suspects.