A Ridgefield woman faces attempted murder charges after she allegedly tried to poison her former partner.
Kristen Hogan, 33, was taken into custody by the Western District Major Crime detectives at Troop A at 11 a.m. on Friday and charged with two counts of criminal attempt at murder and one count of interfering with an officer, as reported by the Hartford Courant.
Detectives from Western District Major Crime took over an investigation into an alleged attempted murder previously being investigated by the Ridgefield Police Department on Sept. 5.
Victim was Hospitalized with Symptoms Consistent with Ethylene Glycol Poisoning
State police investigators learned that a 34-year-old Ridgefield man was brought to an area hospital in early August. During his stay, a blood test allegedly revealed the man had ethylene glycol in his system, which is a poisonous ingredient that can be found in antifreeze and other household products.
Investigators met with the man on Sept. 12, and were told that, on Aug. 5, he had family over for dinner. He said his stepmother brought an unopened bottle of wine which he and his family drank. He said that the remaining wine in the bottle was corked and placed in the refrigerator at the end of the night.
The man said on Aug. 7 he was scheduled to appear at Danbury Superior Court in response to a complaint filed by Hogan, his former partner. The man said that Hogan was supposed to appear in court but never did.
He claimed that he received a notification on his phone that Hogan's cell phone was uploading data to the wi-fi router at his residence while he was waiting in court for her arrival. The man said when he returned home, Hogan was not at the residence, according to the warrant affidavit.
Victim Said He Started Experiencing Symptoms After Drinking the Leftover Wine
The man told investigators on Aug. 10 he drank a small amount of the remaining wine. After drinking the wine, he said he went to bed. The man claimed that he woke up multiple times during the night and became increasingly ill. Around 6 a.m., he said woke up vomiting and called his father for advice. He said his father told him to call his mother who lives in the area, the warrant affidavit said.
The man claimed that his mother arrived and found him slurring his words, staggering and vomiting, so she brought him to the hospital. According to the man, the doctors initially believed he was experiencing a stroke, but after some time it was determined that it was the result of ethylene glycol exposure.
Hogan Would Become Sole Owner of the Residence and Gain Full Custody of the Child in the Event of Victim's Death
According to the warrant affidavit, he said he was placed on dialysis and transferred to the intensive care unit. The man said doctors asked him what he ingested before arriving at the hospital. He said he told them he ate previously unopened food and the wine.
Ridgefield police detectives seized the wine from his home as evidence and submitted it the Connecticut Forensic Laboratory for testing, which confirmed the presence of ethylene glycol, which is untraceable in small amounts.
The man told investigators none of his family members who drank the wine fell ill on Aug. 5. He said Hogan had unrestricted access to the home. He believed that a motive for him being allegedly poisoned is the fact that Hogan thought she would become the full owner of the residence and would gain full custody of their child. He said he believed the ethylene glycol was put into the wine while he was not at the residence.
Hogan Googled 'How Much Ethylene Glycol Would Kill You?'
During their investigation, police found search queries on Hogan's phone, asking "how much [ethylene glycol] would kill you?" She also looked up information about unit-conversions, the warrant reads.
Detectives said Hogan admitted to buying mono-ethylene glycol and pouring some into an iced tea bottle, and also into wine, saying she wanted her now-estranged husband to feel sick, according to the warrant. Hogan and the victim had been separated since May and is also the father of their child.
Police said the child was also hospitalized, but no tests were done to identify if the child's symptoms were caused by the same chemical.
Based on the investigation, state police applied for and were granted an arrest warrant for Hogan, who was taken into custody Friday She was held on a $1 million bond and was scheduled to appear at Danbury Superior Court. Hogan is facing charges including two counts of criminal attempt at murder and interfering with an officer.
