John Jefferson
Alfred Ruf (Wayne County Jail).
A husband faces prison time in Indiana after admitting years later that he poisoned his wife’s Coca-Cola beverages with drugs a dozen times and caused a “substantial risk of death” so she would fall asleep and her daughter and friend could “put on a show” for him.
The Wayne County Sheriff’s Office said that after it went to the 51-year-old victim’s home on Jan. 3, 2022, when she said she was “being poisoned by her husband,” Alfred Ruf allegedly admitted to “giving [the victim] an unknown substance knowing it would eventually kill her.”
“[The victim] was hospitalized several times in 2021, believed to be a result of the poisoning,” authorities said, claiming to also have “two other persons of interest” in what was then a conspiracy to commit murder without resulting in death probe.
Officials did not specify who those “persons of interest” might be, but the victim’s daughter and her friend were prominently mentioned in reporting from 2022 about the eye-popping allegations against Ruf.
It was alleged that Ruf himself confessed to putting a substance in his wife’s Coca-Cola drinks a number of times over a period of months in 2021 and that both her daughter and the friend knew about this because they suggested it and would “put on a show” for him when the victim fell asleep.
After the last-straw incident that led to Ruf’s arrest, when he allegedly admitted to his wife about the poisoning attempts, the victim reportedly tested positive at a hospital for cocaine, benzodiazepines, and MDMA (also known as Ecstasy and Molly).
WXIN reported that Ruf admitted he was “spiking” his wife’s drinks with an “unknown substance” that her daughter provided, that this happened around 12 times, and that each time his stepdaughter and the friend would come over to house when the victim was asleep.
He also allegedly admitted that had sex with the victim’s daughter, that she and the friend would “put on a show,” that he would pay for sex acts, and that the daughter suggested getting “mom out of the picture” for life insurance money purposes. He may have also believed the victim’s daughter would want to marry him after his wife was gone (that’s how WXIN reported it, but other sources were less clear on which of the two women that detail spoke of).
Ultimately, Ruf reportedly admitted the poisonings to his wife “because he felt bad.”
But it seems charges against potential co-conspirators, never came, and in the end, Ruf did not have to plead guilty to the top conspiracy to commit murder charge.
A judgment and sentencing document in the case obtained by Law&Crime shows that Ruf instead pleaded guilty to aggravated battery by “knowingly or intentionally inflict[ing] injury on a person that creates a substantial risk of death,” a felony that will put the 71-year-old behind bars for four years — with five more years of prison suspended, unless he misbehaves or violates the various conditions of his probation.
Only one part of those conditions was crossed out.
Documents show that Wayne County Circuit Court Judge April Drake issued findings of both “aggravating” and “mitigating” circumstances in the case.
Under aggravating factors, the judge said Ruf “knew or should have known that the victim was a person with a disability,” that he was married to her and “aware” of her “vulnerabilities,” and that there simply were “other non-violent ways” Ruf “could have extracted himself from the turbulent relationship” but didn’t.
On the other hand, the judge wrote that the assault “was a result of circumstances unlikely to recur,” that Ruf had “no history of delinquency or criminal activity,” that he’s “likely to respond affirmatively to probation or short-term imprisonment” and “unlikely to commit another crime,” and that his being incarcerated “will result in undue hardship to the defendant due to health concerns.”
Drake added that, to his mitigating credit, Ruf “expressed genuine remorse” and cooperated with authorities.
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