Background: The Pike County Detention Center in Pikeville, Kentucky (Google Maps). Inset: Ronald Coots (Pike County Detention Center).
A Kentucky man is accused of threatening to kill his wife after believing she had poisoned him by putting Tylenol in his deviled eggs.
Ronald Coots, 72, faces a multitude of charges, including first-degree burglary, first-degree wanton endangerment, first-degree unlawful imprisonment, and third-degree terroristic threatening, jail records reviewed by Law&Crime show. He was booked into the Pike County Detention Center on Friday.
It was the afternoon of that day when troopers with the Kentucky State Police were called to a home on Mingo Street in Pike County. A woman — later identified as Coots' wife — had contacted authorities, claiming her husband was trying to kill her, according to regional CBS affiliate WYMT.
A trooper reportedly arrived to find Coots on the porch of the residence with a shotgun. The officer told him to drop the weapon, and, despite allegedly failing to do so initially, the suspect obeyed, authorities said.
Coots is said to have been bleeding heavily from his arm after he punched a window. He allegedly told the trooper that his wife was "trying to kill him" by putting the medication in his food.
As the officer worked on treating Coots' wound, the suspect apparently uttered a revealing statement. He said he "should've blew her brains out," per WYMT.
Investigators also spoke with Coots' wife and another woman at the residence. They reportedly told officers that Coots had "freaked out" and tried to get inside the home to kill his wife by breaking a window because the door was locked.
There was blood throughout the house, as well as a bloody handprint on the bathroom door, authorities said.
Coots was arrested and booked into the Pike County Detention Center that night. He is scheduled to appear in court on March 26.