A Virginia man who allegedly attempted to kill his mother-in-law by lacing her coffee with methamphetamine was sentenced to prison last week.
Jack David Price, 56, of Pamplin, was sentenced to six years in prison after he reached a plea deal with prosecutors, The News & Advance reported. He is accused of giving his 95-year-old mother-in-law, Ester Price, coffee mixed with meth in December 2017.
Prosecutors said Ester was admitted to a hospital after falling ill last year, and subsequently showed signs of having the illicit substance in her system. When an Appomattox County Sheriff’s Office detective spoke with the victim’s unidentified granddaughter, she said that she suspected Price was plotting to kill her grandmother.
Ester herself told authorities that the day before she fell ill, Price treated her to a coffee, something that was “not an ordinary event,” according to court documents. She then reportedly became sick.
Further, a neighbor acquainted with the family told police that Price once said he should “put some meth in her [Ester’s] drink,” the documents alleged. When the neighbor didn’t find the exchange funny, Price allegedly said he was kidding.
While the suspect was initially charged with attempted murder, Deputy Commonwealth Attorney Les Fleet said Thursday that an agreement was reached to drop the charge in exchange for Price’s guilty plea to felony “altering of food, drink or drugs.” The plea deal allowed for the elderly woman to avoid the anxiety and trauma of a trial.
[Feature Photo: Jack David Price/Appomattox County Sheriff’s Office]
