- Sarah Scheffer, 37, charged with attempted murder of husband Matthew, 38
- The art teacher allegedly put poisonous lily of the valley roots in his food and drinks
- He became suspicious and installed a hidden camera to supposedly catch her in the act
A high school art teacher allegedly tried to kill her husband by crushing a poisonous flower and hiding it in his food and smoothies.
Sarah Scheffer, 37, was charged with attempted murder after her husband Matthew, 38, installed a hidden camera when he fell ill.
He watched as his wife allegedly blended the contents of a green bowl, which were roots from a bag labeled “lily of the valley,” into a smoothie for him at their home in Jefferson City, Missouri.
Lily of the valley is a white flower that is popular at weddings but is poisonous if consumed, especially its roots.
Ms Scheffer proudly wrote on her photography business's Instagram page that she was “mother of two wild things and wife of a bearded foodie” – but police claimed she planned to murder him and flee to Pakistan.
Ms. Scheffer is said to have admitted during interrogation that she added the poisonous plant to the smoothie “with the intention of causing harm to the victim.”
The couple have two sons – a young boy and a baby – and it is unclear whether Ms Scheffer planned to take them with her to Pakistan as part of her escape
Mr. Scheffer, a regional manager at US Foods, installed the surveillance camera after suspecting over the past six weeks that his wife was trying to make him sick.
“The victim described eight incidents in which the defendant provided a drink or food that had a strange taste,” a probable cause statement said.
“Shortly after ingestion, he experienced extreme fatigue, confusion, blurred vision, severe cotton swab and nausea.”
Mr. Scheffer confronted his wife on New Year's Day after she gave him a bitter-tasting drink, and she changed her story twice.
First she bizarrely said she had urinated in his drink, then she “admitted to putting an industrial adhesive in it” and then denied adding anything at all.
Ms. Scheffer is a design and art teacher at Calvary Lutheran High School in Jefferson City (pictured on the school's website).
Mr. Scheffer secretly installed a camera overlooking the kitchen in her Jefferson City, Missouri, home (pictured) and allegedly recorded her latest poisoning attempt
Since her husband has now become extremely suspicious, he secretly installed a camera overlooking the kitchen and allegedly filmed her latest poisoning attempt.
He stashed the smoothie in the fridge and called the police on Tuesday, who took the drink for lab testing and later arrested his wife.
Ms. Scheffer is said to have admitted during interrogation that she added the poisonous plant to the smoothie “with the intention of causing harm to the victim.”
“The defendant admitted knowing that ingesting lily of the valley could cause death,” the statement said.
The probable cause statement denied bail because Ms. Scheffer told police she was in a relationship with someone in Pakistan and had searched online for flights to the South Asian country.
Ms. Scheffer was charged with attempted murder and armed criminal action and booked into the Cole County Jail.
She is a design and art teacher at Calvary Lutheran High School in Jefferson City, so she was placed on leave while the case was heard.
“The alleged conduct was outside the employee’s affiliation with the school and did not involve any student or other school personnel,” said John Christman, executive director of Calvary Lutheran.
Lily of the valley is a white flower that is popular at weddings but is poisonous if consumed, especially its roots
Ms. Scheffer is a professional artist and photographer who also teaches at a local high school