A Missouri Christian school art teacher was arrested based on accusations that she tried to kill her husband by mixing a poisonous plant into his smoothie drink.
The Jefferson City Police Department released a statement last week explaining that a man alerted the police on Jan. 16 when he discovered he was suffering from an “unexplained illness” that might have been “an intentional act of poisoning.”
The man reportedly installed a camera in the kitchen and caught his wife mixing a smoothie with a root-like substance from a bag marked “lily of the valley,” according to a probable cause statement.
Lily of the Valley is a poisonous flower that can be hazardous to people and animals if ingested.
Sarah Elizabeth Scheffer, 37, confessed to “adding items to the victim’s food with the knowledge” that it could cause illness or even death, authorities confirmed.Â
She reportedly spiked her husband’s food with “numerous cardiac glycosides, which can slow down the heart and cause irregular heart rhythm.” It can cause “nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain,” the police stated.Â
Scheffer, an art instructor at the Missouri-based Calvary Lutheran High School, has been charged with attempted murder and armed criminal action. She has been ordered to be held without bail at Cole County Jail.
John Christman, the executive director at Calvary Lutheran, was shocked when he discovered the allegations against a member of his own teaching staff.Â
“She was a beloved teacher and did a wonderful job of growing the art skills of her students,” Christman said in an NBC News report.
“She was a well-loved teacher at our school. We felt and had seen the fruits of her investment in the students. She was able to encourage them to produce and always seemed to be engaged for all the right reasons.”
In a statement to KMIZ, Christman said Scheffer’s “alleged conduct was outside of the employee’s association with the school and did not involve a student or any other school personnel.”
“As a Christian community, Calvary Lutheran High School believes in protecting the well-being of all individuals who are part of our programs and we seek to respond in a caring and sensitive manner to everyone in our school community,” Christman added.
The former teacher’s father shared with NBC how the accusations came completely “out of the blue” and that they don’t represent the daughter he knows — “a well-liked artist and teacher who volunteers to raise money for third-world health efforts.”
“She’s a decent person,” Marcus Blaskie told NBC. “I don’t think she could have done this, but I guess that’ll just have to come out at trial.”
The husband’s suspicions of his wife had been present for roughly six weeks. After seeing the video that showed his wife making a smoothie using the roots that were in the bag, the man gave the smoothie to law enforcement for testing.Â
Nicole Alcindor is a reporter for The Christian Post.Â
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