An Indiana man has confessed to lacing his wife’s Coca-Cola cans with drugs including cocaine and MDMA as part of a plan to murder her and marry her daughter.
On Monday, Alfred Ruf, 71, was sentenced to four years in prison after pleading guilty to aggravated assault with risk of death.
The charges against the 71-year-old stemmed from a series of incidents in 2021, when he reportedly slipped something into his wife’s soda a dozen times.
In January 2022, Ruf was under investigation after his wife, Liza Bishop, 51, notified authorities that she thought her husband was trying to poison her.
Alfred Ruf, 71, has confessed to lacing his wife’s Coca-Cola cans with drugs including cocaine and MDMA as part of a plan to murder her and marry her daughter.
Before contacting police, Bishop was hospitalized six times over the course of a few weeks.
I had been suffering from unexplained headaches, drowsiness, diarrhea, and other strange symptoms.
During each hospital stay, he tested positive for substances including cocaine, MDMA and benzodiazepines, none of which he was taking.
At some point, Bishop also discovered a powdery residue on his Coca-Cola cans.
Ruf later confessed to his wife that he had indeed tried to poison her because he felt “bad” about it. She then contacted the authorities.
When authorities arrived at the couple’s home, they allegedly heard Ruf mention that he had been “spiking” his wife’s drink with an “unknown substance” he had received from his 31-year-old daughter.
The 71-year-old was taken to the Wayne County Sheriff’s Department, where he apparently confessed to the poisonings during an interview. He also reportedly admitted to having a sexual relationship with Bishop’s daughter from a previous marriage.
At some point, Bishop also discovered a powdery residue on his Coca-Cola cans.
Ruf allegedly explained to authorities how the 31-year-old woman had provided him with the drugs and ordered him to put them in his mother’s drinks.
According to court documents, “Ruf stated that the substance would cause (his wife) to fall asleep for approximately 13 hours.”
During that time, the Bishop’s daughter and her friend would come to the house, where they “put on a show” for him, according to Ruf.
According to an affidavit acquired by USA todayThe ‘show’ involved the two women dressing in Bishop’s clothing and performing ‘sexual acts on each other.’
Ruff allegedly claimed that the daughter engineered the plot, suggesting they should “get Mom out of it” and benefit from her life insurance policy.
The 71-year-old also reportedly told police that the daughter wanted to marry him after they “took care” of Bishop.
The 71-year-old man was taken to the Wayne County Sheriff’s Department, where he apparently confessed to the poisonings during an interview.
According to what he told authorities, from September 2021 to December 2021, Ruff poisoned his wife’s drink 12 times.
“Ruf stated that he knew the substance would ultimately kill his wife,” police wrote. “It was his ultimate goal.”
When police arrested the husband in January 2022, they reported that they were investigating two other suspects in connection with the case. So far, no further arrests have been made.
Ruf will serve four years behind bars, followed by five years of probation.