True crime enthusiasts have a gripping new documentary to watch tonight as Channel 5 airs 'The Poisoning: How to Kill Your Husband' at 10pm. The programme explores the disturbing case of Heather Mook, who secretly laced her husband's spaghetti with rat poison and antidepressants in 2008.
Heather Mook's Poisoning Plot
Heather Mook, then 58, was convicted on two counts of poisoning after she slipped rat poison and amitriptyline into her husband John's pasta dish. Her motive was to defraud his mother out of £43,000 by making John confused enough to allow the theft. John Mook survived the ordeal and later told reporters outside court: "I think she needs some serious help and I hope she gets it." Despite the severity of the crime, he insisted prison might not have been the right place for her.
Previous Poisoning Conviction
During the trial, it emerged that this was not Mook's first poisoning offence. In 1982, she had been convicted for poisoning her seven-year-old daughter, Teresa, by grinding an antidepressant tablet into her food. Adrian Waterman QC, prosecuting, argued that Mook had a large supply of pills prescribed to her personally. He said: "The stealing of the money and the giving of the drugs were linked. She gave him amitriptyline to avoid discovery of her thefts."
Court Verdict and Sentencing
The jury took just two and a half hours to find Mook guilty. The judge described her as a 'dangerous woman' and imposed an indeterminate sentence, meaning no fixed release date was set. She became eligible for parole after serving a minimum of five years. Throughout the trial, she was characterized as a 'menace to friends and strangers alike' for repeatedly deceiving those closest to her.
'The Poisoning: How to Kill Your Husband' originally aired last year and is being rebroadcast tonight on Channel 5 at 10pm.
