Alfred W. Ruf, 71, pleaded guilty to spiking his wife’s drinks with drugs on at least twelve occasions in 2021, according to state court documents obtained by WXIN.
Ruf’s wife contacted authorities in January 2022 after he admitted to trying to poison her. She had been hospitalized multiple times within a few weeks due to headaches, diarrhea, and drowsiness, among other symptoms.
Tests revealed the presence of drugs in her system that she had not knowingly consumed, including cocaine, MDMA, and benzodiazepines.
Richmond police officers reported that Ruf admitted to adding an “unknown substance” to his wife’s drink, which had been provided to him by her daughter.
The wife gave police a pill bottle containing an off-white powder and a Coke can with similar residue. Ruf then confessed that his intention was to kill his wife in order to marry her daughter. He said the substance had caused his wife to sleep for about 13 hours.
Court documents revealed that Ruf claimed his daughter and a friend instructed him to add the powder to his wife’s Coke and wait for her to fall asleep. The two women then went to his Indiana home, where Ruf engaged in sexual activities with one woman while the other stole from his wife. Ruf admitted to paying the women for these acts.
Ruf alleged that the daughter had instructed him to “remove mom from the picture” and cash in on her insurance policy, with plans to marry him afterward.
Ruf reportedly confessed to his actions because he felt remorseful. The wife stated that Ruf admitted he was drugging her to facilitate sexual encounters with the daughter and her friend.
On August 26, Ruf pleaded guilty in Wayne County Court to aggravated battery posing a risk of death. The conspiracy to commit murder charge was dismissed. He has been sentenced to four years in prison and five years of probation.
