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Sarah E.B. Scheffer (Cole County Jail) and the lily of the valley plant she allegedly used to try and kill her husband (YouTube|Plant Speak screenshot)
A 37-year-old Christian teacher in Missouri has been arrested after she allegedly tried to kill her husband by poisoning his smoothies every day for nearly two months. Sarah E.B. Scheffer was taken into custody on Wednesday and charged with one count of first-degree attempted murder and one count of armed criminal action, authorities announced.
Scheffer allegedly admitted to surreptitiously giving her husband the “lily of the valley” plant, all parts of which authorities say “slow down the heart,” and “cause irregular heart rhythm.” It is categorized as having “major toxicity.”
According to a probable cause affidavit filed in Cole County Circuit Court, the woman’s husband had been suspicious that his wife was putting “poisonous and/or toxic substances in his food and beverages without his knowledge for the past six weeks.”
The husband said there were about eight occurrences in which his wife had provided him with a food or beverage that tasted strange. Shortly after ingestion, he claimed to experience “extreme fatigue, confusion, blurred vision, severe cotton mouth, and nausea.
He told authorities that his wife on Dec. 31 gave him a smoothie that tasted unusually bitter. When he confronted her about the taste and accused her of putting something in his smoothie, she allegedly responded by claiming “she urinated in it,” then “admitted to putting an industrial strength adhesive in it,” and later “denied putting anything in the beverage,” per the affidavit.
Growing increasingly wary of his wife, the husband said he installed a concealed surveillance camera in the kitchen. Reviewing the footage, the husband said at about 6:50 a.m. on Jan. 16, he “observed a bag labeled ‘lily of the valley’ sitting on a table in Scheffer’s work area within the home.” Also on the table was a green bowl “containing what he described as a root from the bag.” He photographed the bowl and its contents, which he showed to police along with the surveillance footage.
“The victim displayed a video capturing the defendant adding items to a blender on 01-16-2024 at about 0745 hours,” the affidavit states. Scheffer then “emptied the contents from what appeared to be the same bowl he had photographed earlier in the morning, into the blender, The defendant blended the contents, poured the contents into a yellow insulated tumbler, and placed the tumbler in the fridge. The victim stated the defendant prepared the smoothie for him.”
Police seized the tumbler and submitted it to a laboratory for testing and questioned Scheffer about what she had been serving her husband.
“The defendant admitted to adding a root of the ‘lily of the valley’ into the blender while preparing a smoothie drink for the victim,” the affidavit states. Scheffer “admitted doing this with the intent to cause the victim harm. The defendant admitted to knowing that ingesting ‘lily of the valley’ could result in death. The defendant admitted knowing the act was illegal.”
Scheffer is currently employed by Calvary Lutheran High School in Jefferson City, Missouri, which is “dedicated to building Christian leaders” through a “Christ-centered experience” for students and families. Scheffer is listed on the school’s website as a Design & Art teacher. The News Tribune reported that she was named the new Capital Arts leader of the school in February last year.
John Christman, the school’s executive director of Calvary, said he was notified of the allegations against Scheffer on Wednesday.
“The alleged conduct was outside of the employee’s association with the school and did not involve a student or any other school personnel,” he wrote in an email to Columbia, Missouri NBC affiliate KOMU. “As a Christian community, Calvary Lutheran High School believes in protecting the well-being of all individuals who are part of our programs and we seek to respond in a caring and sensitive manner to everyone in our school community.”
Scheffer is currently being held in Cole County Jail without bond. She is scheduled to be arraigned on Friday afternoon.
Authorities recommended that Scheffer not be given bond, noting in the affidavit that she claimed to have “a relationship with an individual who resides in Pakistan” and said she “conducted Google searches for flights to Pakistan.”
