New Castle, DE — Antifreeze, which is used to prevent car engines and oil from freezing during winter temperatures, is apparently extremely lethal to the human body.
Jamie Baker, a 44-year old woman from Delaware was charged last week with first-degree murder and possession of a deadly weapon after she apparently poisoned her husband with antifreeze. Her husband was found dead in their bedroom last September, and an autopsy revealed that his kidneys contained a substance called ethylene glycol – the same chemical found in antifreeze.Police said they found the chemical in her husband’s bottles of liquid steroids, and this led them to rule the death as a homicide by poisoning. If taken in even just small doses, ethylene glycol will start to crystallize in a person’s kidneys and gradually will kill him.
Baker did not give a reason for why she wanted her husband dead, but she did admit to detectives that she had used a hypodermic syringe to extract antifreeze from a container stored in the garage, and then injected several bottles of the steroids with the antifreeze.
The two had been married for 21 years, and had two daughters.
The wife is currently being held without bail in Baylor Women’s Correctional Institution in New Castle, Delaware. The length of her sentence has not yet been determined, but she is expected to receive a life sentence.