Man sentenced to prison for drugging wife in a murder attempt and fleeing with stepdaughter | US News

An elderly man in Indiana has been sentenced to four years in prison after admitting to spiking his wife’s drinks with cocaine in an attempt to kill her and run off with his stepdaughter.

Alfred W Ruf pleaded guilty to aggravated battery posing a risk of death at Wayne County Court, with a conspiracy to commit murder charge being dismissed as part of a plea deal.

Ruf, aged 71, confessed to his wife about spiking her drinks “because he felt bad”, as stated in a sworn statement. Authorities in Indiana launched an investigation in 2022 after Ruf’s wife, Lisa Bishop, reported multiple hospitalizations and suspected attempts on her life.

She handed over a pill bottle with a suspicious white powder, revealing that Ruf had been putting drugs into her beverages. She became suspicious after finding white powder in a Coke can she had consumed.

Tests confirmed the presence of cocaine, MDMA, and benzodiazepine in her system. Ruf’s attorney described their marriage as volatile and marked by domestic violence incidents, including an incident where Ms Bishop ran over her husband with a car.

Ruf allegedly claimed that his stepdaughter provided him with the powder to drug his wife, but the daughter denied involvement. He admitted to dosing his wife about 12 times between September and December 2021, resulting in multiple hospitalizations for her.

Ms Bishop confronted Ruf after finding the powder in her drink, leading to his admission of drugging her. Ruf claimed he did it to make her pass out so that he could have sexual encounters with other women.

He also mentioned the daughter’s desire to marry him once his wife was “taken care of.” Ruf was sentenced to four years in prison and five years of probation.