A Wisconsin woman’s trial date for allegedly repeatedly poisoning her 71-year-old husband has been set for July 29.
According to Wisconsin Circuit Court records, Amanda Chapin, 51, pleaded no contest to first-degree reckless endangering the safety of her veterinarian husband, Gary Chapin, as reported by Fox News.
Last week, the original charge of first-degree attempted homicide was downgraded in a plea deal with the Lafayette County District Attorney’s Office.
According to a criminal complaint obtained by the Telegraph Herald, Amanda allegedly started spiking her husband’s coffee with animal euthanasia drugs that she took from his veterinary clinic, just months after their March 2022 wedding.
A few weeks before the alleged drugging, she had him amend the deed to his house, investigators said, to ensure that she would be the sole homeowner in the event of his death.
Between July and August 2022, the defendant reportedly poisoned her husband three times, with the last attempt placing him into a four-day coma. According to Fox News, she waited three hours before calling 911 after noticing Chaplin would not wake up.
Amanda Chapin allegedly accessed her husband’s personal email account shortly after he lapsed into a coma. She allegedly forwarded emails between Gary and his legal counsel, as well as emails with his children, to her email address.
Following the victim’s coma, his son filed a restraining order against the defendant, which prohibited her from contacting him.
However, on September 1, 2022, she purportedly violated the order by emailing Gary Chapin a suicide note. In the message, she denied accusations of poisoning her husband and claimed his children were attempting to “destroy her.”
“The only thing I am guilty of is loving you SOOOOOOOOOO MUCH,” she wrote in an email.
In September 2022, Gary Chapin filed for divorce a day after the defendant attempted suicide. She was subsequently taken by paramedics to the hospital, where she recovered.
The Monroe Times reported that the family felt the relationship was “fairly stormy from the beginning,” per the criminal complaint, and that he was “just a ‘sugar daddy’ for Amanda.”
If convicted, Amanda Chapin could face a maximum of 12.5 years in a state correctional facility.
Check back for updates.
For the latest true crime and justice news, subscribe to the ‘Crime Stories with Nancy Grace’ podcast.
[Feature Photo: Amanda Alicia Chapin/Lafayette County Sheriff’s Office]
