US man attempts to murder wife by poisoning her so he could marry step-daughter

A series of incidents in 2021 led to a case against Alfred W Ruf. His wife was hospitalised multiple times and tested positive for illegal drugs which she denied taking.

A 71 year old man named Alfred W Ruf, pleaded guilty to attempting to murder his wife by poisoning her Coca-Cola with various drugs in the US's Wayne County Court, according to a report in the NDTV.

Ruf was found guilty to aggravated battery posing a risk of death which is a level 3 felony. A charge of conspiracy to commit murder was dismissed, he received a four-year prison sentence followed by five years of probation, the report added.

A series of incidents in 2021 led to a case against him. His wife was hospitalised multiple times and tested positive for illegal drugs which she denied taking. Ruf allegedly confessed to the police that he had been poisoning his wife to kill her so that he could marry her daughter, the article further notes.

Ruf's wife went to the police in January 2022 after he allegedly confessed to attempting to poison her. She told them that she was hospitalised six times in recent weeks with symptoms like headaches, drowsiness, and diarrhoea. The woman also tested positive for MDMA, cocaine, and benzodiazepines, though she denied using any of these substances.

Upon questioning by the sheriff's department, he said that his wife's daughter from a previous marriage had given him the powdery substance and asked him to put it in his wife's drink. Ruf confessed that he had an affair with his step daughter. He further claimed that the step-daughter suggested killing the wife to inherit her life insurance policy and later marry him, the NDTV article reported.

Ruf reportedly further admitted to poisoning his wife from about 12 times between September and December 2021, the wife also told the police that she became suspicious and confronted him resulting in his confession.

The report further mentions that when Ruf was arrest, local police stated they were still investigating two other suspects connected to the case, but no one else has been arrested.