Woman jailed after lacing lasagna with drugs to cause someone's miscarriage
Topics: US Food
Ella Scott
Featured Image Credit: d3sign/Getty Images
Topics: US Food
Warning: This article contains references to miscarriage and pregnancy loss which some readers may find distressing
An American woman has been sentenced to extensive jail time after pleading guilty to delivering a drug-laced lasagna to a pregnant woman in a failed miscarriage attempt.
On Tuesday (26 May), Amber Snow, 36, pled guilty to four counts of conspiracy to commit non-forcible felony, attempted child endangerment, nonconsensual termination of pregnancy, and a controlled substance violation, according to court records seen by People Magazine.
Judge Richard D. Stochl, appointed to the bench in 2007, sentenced the Iowa resident to a decade behind bars for the part she played in delivering a ‘family-size pan of lasagna’ which was allegedly laced with a controlled substance.
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It’s understood that Snow shared custody of her child with the victim’s relatives and that said child was reportedly present when the dinner dish was delivered to the unknowing victim, The Guardian reported, citing the Winneshiek County sheriff’s office.
The Des Moines Register said the minor was aware of her mother and her husband’s plan and rejected it.
Reports state that she and her alleged co-conspirator, identified by officials as her husband, Matthew Uthoff, 35, intended to ‘cause a miscarriage to a pregnancy of a woman’ with the pasta, which tested positive for oxycodone, police said in March amid her arrest.
Both Snow and Uthoff were taken into custody on March 10 and 26, respectively, with the former being held on a $100,000 cash bond.
Uthoff, who is currently awaiting trial in the Winneshiek County jail, was held on a $38,000 cash or surety bond, The Guardian wrote earlier this year.
People Magazine said that he has pleaded not guilty despite being charged with child endangerment, delivering a controlled substance, and intentionally working to terminate a human pregnancy without the knowledge and voluntary consent of the pregnant person.
Two counts of administering a harmful substance to an adult and administering a harmful substance to a juvenile are also set against him.
It is not known if he has retained an attorney to speak on his behalf or when he will appear in court, People posted.
The sheriff’s office and the Winneshiek County attorney’s office first began investigating the bizarre incident in January after receiving a worried call, KGAN, citing the sheriff’s office.
Authorities claimed that electronic communication between Snow and Uthoff led to the arrests, but that their motives are unclear.
The woman and the newborn baby who were targeted in the worrying drug-related incident are reportedly ‘safe’ as per the sheriff’s office.
It was not confirmed if either the mother or her child ingested the contaminated lasagna.
The victim reportedly did not know about the attempt to terminate her pregnancy when the dish was delivered on 28 December.
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