Man Poisoned By Wife Says He Still Loves Her, But Won't Welcome Her Back Home

ABC Action News ^ | 11/30/2012 | Ryan Raiche

[nickcarraway]

Sheriff says she crushed drugs into his sandwich

The man deputies say was poisoned by his own wife says he still loves her, but says she's never welcomed back to their Lake Wales home.

The Polk County Sheriff's Office says on Thursday, Beth Richards secretly slid crushed up anti-depressants into a tuna fish sandwich that she made for her husband, Greg.

"I think she went over the edge maybe," he said outside of his home on Friday. "I don't know."

Authorities are calling it attempted murder.

"It shocks us that this is cold, calculated, and premeditated," said Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd. "He started eating his tuna fish sandwich and noticed it kind of had a aspirin after taste so he only ate about half of it.

"His wife texted him throughout the day and asked him, 'hey, have you ate your tuna fish sandwich?'" He said.

[TigersEye]

LOL

I want to know who the heck is putting Trazadone in my food!

[TChad]

That doesn't sound too safe.

Well, OK, let me go back to my original post.

He was in little danger from the amount of Trazodone she could put into one sandwich.

I think that is correct. "Little danger" is not "no danger," and assuming the reported allegations are true, she definitely did endanger her husband. However, she is apparently going to be tried for attempted murder. If that was her intent, Trazodone was a terrible drug choice. It is too safe.

Trazodone has been in use since the 1960s. While it is classified as an antidepressant, many people use it as a sleep medication. There are plenty of cases of Trazodone overdoses in the medical literature, but only a few deaths reported worldwide, and long term sequelae are minimal.

I don't think Tylenol causes dizziness, nausea, low blood pressure, drowsiness, affect motor skills or cause suicidal thoughts.

No, but it has different side effects that can be life threatening. Acetaminophen overdose is the leading cause of acute liver failure in the United States. Source: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18570942.

From http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15239078

Acetaminophen overdose is the leading cause for calls to Poison Control Centers (>100,000/year) and accounts for more than 56,000 emergency room visits, 2,600 hospitalizations, and an estimated 458 deaths due to acute liver failure each year. Data from the U.S. Acute Liver Failure Study.

Here is the New York Times Health Guide prognosis for a Trazodone overdose:

Death can result from an overdose, but this is rare. Long-term heart and respiratory problems are also rare.

And the NYT Health Guide prognosis for an acetaminophen overdose:

If treatment is received within 8 hours of the overdose, there is a very good chance of recovery.
However, without rapid treatment, a very large overdose of acetaminophen can lead to liver failure and death in a few days.

I'll take a Trazodone sandwich over a Tylenol sandwich any day.

[TigersEye]

You don’t have to be smart to attempt murder or to be charged with attempted murder when you do.

[TigersEye]

I would also characterize passing out while on a ladder as more than a ‘little danger.’

[TChad]

You don’t have to be smart to attempt murder or to be charged with attempted murder when you do.

Oh, I think she is probably guilty of attempted murder. I just think she is an incompetent killer.

[TChad]

I would also characterize passing out while on a ladder as more than a ‘little danger.’

That depends on the specifics. If he was using a restraint system while on the ladder, there was little danger. Since it was not reported that he fell after he "passed out," I suspect that either he was using a restraint or he did not actually pass out. But I don't know, and you might be correct. My point was that the Trazodone by itself was unlikely to do him much harm.