DARLINGTON, WI – In a stunning example of marital deceit, a Wisconsin woman, Amanda Alicia Chapin, 51, has pleaded no contest to poisoning her new husband with euthanasia drugs appropriated from his veterinary practice. The dangerous chemically-laced beverages she served not only endangered his life but eventually resulted in a coma lasting several days.

The Lafayette County District Attorney’s Office reported that the journey leading to Amanda Chapin’s no-contest plea involved reducing her initial charge of attempted intentional homicide to first-degree reckless endangering safety. This plea bargain emerged despite evidence suggesting a calculated campaign to incapacitate her 71-year-old husband, Gary Chapin, shortly after their wedding in March 2022.

Investigations revealed that Amanda had begun eroding her husband’s well-being within months of their nuptials. The culprits were euthanizing agents, used three times between July and August 2022, which led to Gary Chapin’s grievous condition. The poisoned coffee caused symptoms that Amanda purported were signs of a stroke, directing suspicion away from her actions.

The actions of Amanda Chapin took a more ominous turn when she forged her stepson’s signature to obtain power of attorney, further demanding a change in the deed of her husband’s house to ensure her sole ownership should he die. Her sinister maneuvers culminated in August when the third and final dose of the toxic brew placed Gary Chapin in a critical coma, in which he hung suspended between life and death for four days.

Gary’s suspicions of foul play date back to the initial instances of illness, reminiscent of vertigo, which Amanda insisted was a stroke. It was only after falling into a coma and emerging from his unconscious state that the full scope of his wife’s betrayal unraveled.

Shortly after this emergency, Amanda, in defiance of a restraining order acquired by her stepson, once again reached out to Gary Chapin. This time, it was through a dramatic suicide note in which she denied the accusations against her yet expressed profound love. She survived her suicide attempt, and Gary Chapin promptly filed for divorce.

The former couple’s saga will reach its legal conclusion when Amanda Chapin faces sentencing on July 25. Judge Barbara W. McCoy of the Lafayette County Circuit Court, who has mandated a pre-sentence investigation, will determine if Amanda will serve the maximum sentence of 12.5 years for her crimes. Awaiting her fate, this tale of trust and treachery has now been sealed in court records, unraveled by a blend of coffee, poison, and the hidden darkness within a relationship.