Tuesday, November 21, 2006

Mustard or rat poison ?

An Ocean County woman who police say tried to poison her live-in sister and her sister's boyfriend by putting rat poison in their sandwiches has been charged with two counts of attempted murder.

Dana Simons, 43, was arrested Friday after her sister called police to report finding rat poison pellets in the couple's sandwiches on two separate occasions.

The sister, 51, and boyfriend, 50, did not eat the sandwiches and were unharmed.

The first time Simons' sister noticed something odd was earlier in the week, when Simons brought home sandwiches for the couple that appeared to have a blue-green pellets mixed in with the chicken.

The couple thought it was strange and threw out the food without eating any.

Authorities said when Simons came home again the next day with sandwiches for the couple, they figured out what the pellets were made of.

"They saw the blue-green pellets again and made the connection to the container of rat poison they found in the house," Ocean County Assistant Prosecutor Martin Anton told the Asbury Park Press for Sunday newspapers.

Simons, who until recently worked at a nearby deli, faces five to 10 years in prison for each attempted murder charge if convicted. She was released on her own recognizance.

No comments: