Texas woman charged with attempted murder using fentanyl-laced chocolates

Pamela Jean Stanley, 63, was charged with attempted murder for allegedly plotting to poison her ex-husband. Photo / Parker County Sheriff’s Office

A Texas woman is accused of plotting to murder her newly engaged ex-husband by injecting fentanyl into a box of chocolates and sending it to him as a congratulatory gift from a false third party, the Parker County Sheriff’s Office said.

Pamela Jean Stanley, 63, was indicted and charged last week with attempted murder after police say she told an acquaintance that she planned to buy powdered fentanyl, inject it into a “high-end box of chocolates” and mail it to her ex-husband, disguising the poisoned confections as a gift from a travel agency offering a honeymoon package.

She was arrested after driving for hours from the small West Texas town of Coleman to try to purchase what she thought was fentanyl from undercover investigators at an interstate motel parking lot, according to police.

At the time, she was also found to be in possession of a substance containing 9.5 grams of methamphetamine, they said.

Her bond was set at US$450,000.

Stanley’s ex-husband, Jeff Kauth, told local ABC News affiliate WFAA in a televised interview that he had heard rumours early last year that his ex-wife had talked about hiring a hit man.

“It didn’t really surprise me, because she’s kind of that way,” he said.

Kauth told WFAA that he divorced Stanley in 2019, after 14 years of marriage.

Kauth said he feared he could be the target of an armed attack and went so far as to build a dummy of himself as a decoy to keep inside his home.

He said he had spoken with investigators about his concerns, but no charges were filed.

“I was hoping she would move on or find happiness, and I was hoping she would hope the same for me, but it just didn’t work out that way,” he said.

“I’ll never look at a box of chocolates the same.”

Earlier this month, Kauth announced on Facebook the beginning of a new chapter with his fiancee, sharing a post with photos of the two smiling and showing off matching rings at a picturesque mountain pass in Colorado. He told WFAA that the two had wed last week.

In a statement to the Washington Post, Kauth and his family thanked the public for their support and declined to comment further, citing Stanley’s upcoming court dates.

“We pray justice will be served so that our family can live in peace without fear of retribution in the future,” the statement read.

A legal representative for Stanley could not immediately be reached for comment.