In India man, Alfred Ruf, 71, has been sentenced to four years in prison after confessing to poisoning his wife’s Coca-Cola cans with drugs, including cocaine and MDMA, as part of a plan to murder her and marry her daughter.
Ruf pleaded guilty to aggravated battery posing a risk of death.
The case dates back to 2021 when Ruf reportedly spiked his wife Liza Bishop’s drinks with substances on multiple occasions.
Bishop, 51, began experiencing mysterious symptoms such as headaches, drowsiness, and diarrhoea.
She was hospitalized six times in a few weeks and tested positive for drugs she hadn’t taken. It was during this period that she noticed a powdery residue in her soft drinks.
By January 2022, Bishop suspected foul play and contacted the authorities.
Ruf confessed to her that he was trying to poison her and later admitted to law enforcement that he had been “spiking” her drinks with drugs obtained from her 31-year-old daughter.
Ruf also revealed that he had a sexual relationship with Bishop’s daughter.
According to Ruf’s confession, the daughter and her friend instructed him to lace Bishop’s drinks with drugs to make her sleep for about 13 hours.
“Alfred would then sprinkle some of the white powder in (his wife’s) Coca-Cola can and then wait for her to fall asleep,” read the probable cause affidavit. “(The women) would then come to Alfred’s residence and put more of an unknown substance in (Ruf’s wife’s) drink and have her drink it.”
During this time, the two women would come to the house, dress in Bishop’s clothes, and perform sexual acts on each other, as part of a scheme to clear the way for Ruf to marry the daughter.
Court documents reveal that Ruf claimed the daughter had promised to marry him once her mother was out of the picture, which they planned to achieve by poisoning her and benefiting from her life insurance policy.
Ruf admitted to poisoning Bishop’s drinks 12 times between September and December 2021, knowing that the substances could eventually kill her.
In addition to his prison sentence, Ruf will face five years of probation. Authorities are still investigating two other suspects in connection with the case, though no further arrests have been made.
