A York conwoman who poisoned her husband with rat killer and anti-depressants in an attempt to confuse him while she fleeced his mother of £43,000 is to be sentenced.
Heather Mook, 57, tried to cover up her thefts by giving her husband the anti-depressant drug amitriptyline and rat killer pellets.
Bus driver John Mook, 60, was left confused, tired and agitated by the poisoning but later recovered from his ordea
l.
Following her conviction at York Crown Court last December, it was revealed that Mook has a previous conviction for poisoning her seven-year-old daughter in 1982. On that occasion she crumbled an anti-depressant into the child's food.
She also has a string of previous convictions for dishonesty and deception - including a £5m luxury car and property scam.
Mook, of Heslington Road, was found guilty of two counts of poisoning her husband so as to endanger his life. She had already admitted less serious alternative charges, including administering rat killer and a number of theft-related offences.
At her trial, the jury was told that Mr Mook was tricked into taking the tablets - possibly as many as nine on one occasion - while he was mending a garage door. His wife persuaded him to take them, claiming that they were muscle relaxants.
While he was in hospital recovering from the poisoning she again tricked him into taking more tablets, the court heard. She admitted giving him the poison but denied that she intended to endanger his life.
The jury was told John and Heather Mook married in 1997. Mr Mook's mother, Freda, sold her home and moved into their property in 2002. About £35,000 from the sale was invested while another £8,000 of his mother's money was deposited in the Yorkshire Bank.
The court was told the intention was to use the money to pay the bills at a nursing home for Freda Mook.
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