Channel 5 will broadcast the true crime documentary The Poisoning: How to Kill Your Husband tonight (July 7) at 10pm, exploring the disturbing case of Heather Mook, who secretly poisoned her husband John Mook with rat poison and antidepressants.
Heather Mook's Poisoning Plot
In 2008, Heather Mook, then 58, was convicted on two counts of poisoning with intent to endanger life. She laced her husband's spaghetti with rat poison and the antidepressant amitriptyline as part of a scheme to steal £43,000 from his mother. Prosecutors argued that the poisoning was intended to disorient John Mook so she could proceed with the financial crime.
Remarkably, John Mook survived and later expressed that his wife needed professional help rather than prison. Speaking on the courthouse steps, he said: "I think she needs some serious help and I hope she gets it."
Previous Poisoning Conviction
The trial revealed that this was not Heather Mook's first poisoning offense. In 1982, she had been convicted of poisoning her seven-year-old daughter, Teresa, by grinding up an antidepressant tablet and mixing it into her food. Adrian Waterman QC, prosecuting, noted that Mook had access to numerous pills because they had been prescribed to her directly.
Waterman stated: "The stealing of the money and the giving of the drugs were linked. She gave him amitriptyline to avoid discovery of her thefts."
Pattern of Deception
During the trial, Mook was described as a 'menace to friends and strangers alike' after it emerged she had consistently deceived those in her life. In one instance, she ordered six BMWs using a bank cheque she had obtained fraudulently. The judge ultimately described her as a 'dangerous woman' and imposed an indeterminate sentence, meaning no set release date, though she became eligible for parole after five years.
The jury took just two and a half hours to find her guilty. The Poisoning: How to Kill Your Husband airs tonight on Channel 5 at 10pm.
