Alfred Ruf, a 71-year-old from Indiana, has been sentenced to four years in prison for attempting to poison his wife by contaminating her Coca-Cola. Court records indicate that Ruf's motive for the crime was to facilitate his marriage to his wife's daughter.
Ruf entered a guilty plea related to the poisoning charges and received a four-year prison sentence along with five years of probation. The case came to light after Ruf's wife reported suspicious behavior to the Wayne County Sheriff's Department.
Ruf Gave Wife a Cocktail of Drugs
USA Today reported that according to a probable cause affidavit, Ruf had been secretly adding a substance, which he received from his wife's daughter, to his wife's beverages over several months. The investigation revealed that the victim had provided authorities with a pill bottle containing an unidentified powder and a Coca-Cola can with an "off-white residue" at the bottom. Medical tests later confirmed the presence of MDMA, cocaine, and benzodiazepines in the victim's system.
Ruf confessed to his wife because he "felt guilty," as he told deputies in the affidavit. He also described taking his wife to the hospital on six separate occasions due to the symptoms caused by the drug mixture, which included severe headaches, drowsiness, diarrhea, and lightheadedness, according to court documents.
Ruf's defense attorney, John Lawrence Tompkins, commented that Ruf accepted responsibility for his actions once the state altered the charges. "That's the appropriate thing to do," Tompkins said.
Wife's Daughter and Her Friend Performed For Ruf
Further investigation uncovered disturbing details about Ruf's relationship with his wife's 31-year-old daughter from a previous marriage. Ruf admitted to deputies that the daughter provided him with the pill bottle in September 2021 and instructed him to add the powder to her mother's drinks. The victim consumed the tainted beverages approximately 12 times between September and December 2021.
Court documents revealed that while the victim was asleep, her daughter and the daughter's friend performed for Ruf, including engaging in sexual acts with each other. It was also discovered that the daughter sought to remove her mother from the picture to facilitate her plans with Ruf. She had even discussed the possibility of marrying Ruf after eliminating her mother and had mentioned the potential benefits from the victim's life insurance policy.
