37-year-old Sarah Scheffer of Jefferson City, Missouri has been arrested for attempted murder and armed criminal action.
These charges come after her husband became suspicious after recent unexplained illnesses. According to her husband he had suffered through 8 separate occurrences of becoming ill after being provided food or beverage by his wife, Sarah. He explains that after consuming what had been provided, he experienced confusion, nausea, fatigue and many other symptoms.
After confronting his wife (Sarah works for Calvary Lutheran High) on January 1st, when given a bitter beverage, she alleged she had urinated in it, before going on to deny having done anything at all.
This is when her husband decided he needed to catch her in the act if she was in fact poisoning him. He set up a hidden surveillance video in his home. It was on Tuesday of last week that he caught footage that confirmed his worst fears.
On that day he was able to record her making a smoothie for him. As she was adding the ingredients into the blender he was able to record her adding one shocking ingredient. She visibly added roots from a baggie he has previously seen in the kitchen marked "Lily of the Valley". Lily of the Valley is a member of the nightshade family and contains large amounts of cardiac glycosides. Oddly, this popular wildflower is related to the asparagus family. All parts of the lily of the valley plant are poisonous, with the roots being the most poisonous. Sarah admitted she used the roots. This is an unusual and rare agent for intentionally poisoning someone.
The smoothie, which had been placed in the refrigerator, was seized by police and submitted to the state lab for testing.
However, when questioned, Sarah admitted to adding the root to the smoothie with the intent to cause harm to her husband.
Sarah Scheffer has been booked into the Cole County Jail and is being held without bond.
She is being held with no bond after a warrant for her electronic devices uncovered an online relationship with a man from Pakistan. She had searched flights to Pakistan in the days leading up to her arrest.
Most residents of the Midwest have been taught that Lily of the Valley is a very poisonous plant. It is a bell-shaped and highly fragrant flower. A common myth about the plant is if you touch it, your heart rate will slow down. This is untrue, however if you do handle Lily of the Valley, which is popular in bouquets, you should wash your hands. Ingesting any part of the plant will cause cardiac problems such as your heart rate slowing down dramatically, extreme stomach upset, confusion and many more concerning symptoms.
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