A Michigan man who poisoned his wife’s coffee was sentenced to six months behind bars and will serve his time on weekends only.
FOX 2 reports that Therese Kozlowski became suspicious of husband Brian Kozlowski during their divorce proceedings and installed a security camera in their kitchen in 2018. Apparently, she had a good reason for her suspicions. He was spiking her coffee with antihistamine medication.
“I watched in horror as he poured himself a cup of coffee, took the blue substance and poured it into the pot,” she said. “And swirls it around.”
The victim testified that she noticed over several weeks that she would become drowsy on her way to work after drinking coffee but initially couldn’t figure out why. She said other cars would constantly honk at her on the road while trying to “avoid a collision.” Other drivers warned her she almost hit a wall while driving.
Further, the victim accused Kozlowski of drugging her during summer trips and also, inadvertently spiking his own daughter’s coffee.
“He loaded me up with Adderall during summer boat trips, put laxatives in my protein powder and now poisoning my coffee.”
Therese testified that she filed for divorce in May 2018 and by the next month, she nodded off at the wheel, experienced blurry vision, and felt nauseated after drinking her morning coffee, according to ABC7. After watching her husband in action on surveillance footage, she immediately moved out and contacted her lawyer.
“The last coffee that the defendant had made for the victim was analyzed and contained 127 milliliters of Diphenhydramine,” Macomb County Prosecutor Eric Smith said.
While the defense pushed to keep the defendant out of jail to “save his life and career,” Smith made it clear prison time was expected. When retired, visiting Judge Anthony Viviano ruled that most of the Kozlowski’s time would be spent on probation, Smith said it felt it was a “slap in the face.”
“I am going to sentence him to a period of probation for five years,” Viviano said. “The first 60 days will be in the Macomb County Jail. The 60 days can be served on weekends.”
Smith plans to appeal the judge’s decision.
“The sentence handed down by retired, visiting Judge Antonio Viviano was a slap in the face to the victim and the justice system in general. The defendant pleaded guilty to a 15 year felony in June for repeatedly poisoning his wife. The pre-sentence investigation report recommended a sentence of 38 – 180 months, yet the Judge sentenced the defendant to only 60 days, served on weekends,” stated Prosecutor Smith.
Smith added that the “despicable” act could have killed both the victim and other drivers on the road.
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[Feature Photo: Brian Kozlowski/Facebook]