A Wisconsin woman, Amanda Alicia Chapin, has been accused of poisoning her 71-year-old veterinarian husband, Gary Chapin, with animal euthanasia drugs by spiking his coffee multiple times shortly after their wedding. The incident led to her husband falling into a coma. Chapin pleaded no contest to a charge of felony first-degree reckless endangerment of Gary Chapin, as per Wisconsin Circuit Court records. This charge was reduced from first-degree attempted homicide in a plea deal with Lafayette County prosecutors.
Chapin allegedly added barbiturates stolen from her husband to his coffee on three separate occasions between July and August of 2022. The couple got married in March of the same year, following which Chapin forged one of her husband’s children’s signatures on a power of attorney document. She also insisted on amending the deed to the house to make sure she would be the sole homeowner in case of her husband’s death.
The relationship between Chapin and her husband was described as stormy from the start, with suspicions from the man’s family that he was only acting as a ‘sugar daddy’ for Amanda. The final dose of drugs that Chapin administered to her husband put him into a four-day coma, with blood work revealing the same drugs used for euthanizing animals in his system. Despite this, Chapin reportedly delayed calling 911 for three hours when her husband failed to wake up.
Following the incident, Gary Chapin’s son filed a restraining order against Amanda Chapin suspecting her involvement in his father’s medical emergency. Despite the restraining order, Chapin sent her husband a suicide note, violating the terms of the order. This led to paramedics responding to her house, taking her to a local hospital, and the subsequent filing of a divorce by Gary Chapin the next day.
A presentencing investigation has been ordered by Lafayette County Circuit Court Judge Barbara W. McCoy, with Chapin’s sentencing hearing scheduled for July 15. She could potentially face a maximum of 12.5 years in a state correctional facility. The severity of the situation and the dangerous actions taken by Chapin have highlighted the need for legal repercussions to ensure justice is served for her husband’s poisoning incident. Such cases serve as a reminder of the importance of trust and honesty in relationships, as well as the potential consequences of deceit and betrayal.