Wife convicted of plot to kill husband with anti-freeze

A wife was found guilty yesterday of trying to kill her husband by slipping anti-freeze into his wine and curry. A jury found Kate Knight, 28, guilty of attempting to murder her husband Lee at their home in Stoke-on-Trent in 2005. Sentencing was adjourned until a later date.

Mr Knight, 37, suffered kidney failure and brain damage after being poisoned. He is now blind, partly deaf and needs 24-hour care. The former factory worker, who lives with his parents and the couple's nine-year-old son Jack, said after the hearing: "It has been very stressful.

"I realised my wife had left me. I lost my job, my house, everything I worked for and, worst of all, my son. I have hardly any independence any more. I need to have somebody with me all the time. I don't think I'll ever be able to work again."

During a three-week trial at Stafford Crown Court, jurors were told that Knight plotted to poison her husband, who worked for JCB, in order to collect a £130,000 pay-out from his employer and clear her debts.

On the night of their seventh wedding anniversary, she cooked a curry and served him red wine – both of which were laced with ethylene glycol, the chemical name for anti-freeze.

Knight had used internet search engines to find a method of killing, and decided on anti-freeze after ruling out ecstasy or an overdose of iron.

A neighbour of the couple, Sarah Johnson, 28, told the jury Knight mentioned paying £50,000 to hire a hitman. Under cross-examination, Knight blamed her husband's health problems on drinking too much alcohol.