There’s a reason studying phonics and spelling is important. It could keep you out of jail when you’re plotting to kill your husband? Yeah, it’s what sealed the deal in this case, anyway.
A British woman who tried to kill her husband on Christmas Day 2013 by poisoning him with antifreeze was sentenced to 15 years on Monday.
Jacqueline Patrick, 55, attempted to kill her husband, Douglas Patrick, 70, bypouring the toxic chemicals into his sparkling wine drink.
This was the second time she had attempted to kill her husband.
This time, Jacqueline’s Patrick’s plan was foiled for two reasons: her husband survived again and she got caught in the act thanks to a spelling mistake.
“Perhaps most shocking of all was the note she gave to the London Ambulance Service purporting to be from her husband, stating that he did not wish to be resuscitated,” said Detective Inspector Tracey Miller, of London’s Metropolitan Police, in a statement.
In the forged note, Jacqueline Patrick meant to write about dignity, but she accidentally wrote “dignaty.”
When police suspected foul play, they asked the woman to write the word, and Patrick made the same mistake again.
Douglas Patrick was rushed to the hospital immediately following the incident, and doctors informed his wife that tests revealed he was suffering from antifreeze poisoning.
“His wife was informed (about the results and then she) told doctors she thought Mr. Patrick may have drunk a blue liquid by mistake. The hospital, finding it strange that she hadn’t volunteered this information earlier, called police,” said the police statement.
The couple’s 21-year-old daughter was sentenced to three years in jail after admitting to inciting her mother to poison her father. Jacqueline Patrick pleaded guilty to two counts of attempted murder.
Authorities seized the mother and daughter’s cellphones, which revealed incriminating messages: “I got the stuff I will give him some later delete txt tell no one ok” and “He feels sick again I gave him more delete this.”
KRMG.com contributed to this post.