The woman tried to buy the fentanyl from an undercover investigator at a motel and was then arrested, officials say.
PARKER COUNTY, Texas — A 63-year-old Coleman, Texas, woman has been indicted on charges of criminal solicitation with intent to commit murder after allegedly planning to kill her ex-husband by sending him chocolates laced with fentanyl, according to the Parker County Sheriff’s Office.
Pamela Jean Stanley was arrested Thursday, following an undercover sting operation conducted by the Parker County Sheriff’s Special Crimes Unit (SCU).
According to the sheriff’s office, Stanley was recorded explaining to an acquaintance that she planned to purchase powdered fentanyl and “inject” it into a high-end box of chocolates. The plan involved mailing the poisoned chocolates to her ex-husband, disguised as a congratulatory gift from a travel agency for his recent engagement, along with a “honeymoon” incentive offer.
The would-be victim, Jeff Kauth, who remarried last week, described the alleged plot as scary.
“Her plan was pretty ingenious,” he said. “She thought this stuff through.”
Stanley drove several hours from Coleman to Parker County, where she met with undercover SCU investigators in the parking lot of a local Interstate motel, the sheriff’s office said. The sheriff’s office reported that an undercover officer “provided her with a clear plastic baggie containing what Pamela believed to be Fentanyl.”
Stanley was taken into custody immediately following the undercover purchase. During her arrest, investigators discovered she was also in possession of a substance that the Texas Department of Public Safety Crime Lab tested as containing 9.5 grams of methamphetamine.
Stanley faces three charges: criminal solicitation with intent to commit murder, criminal attempt to commit murder, and possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver. Her total bond has been set at $450,000.
Stanley’s court-appointed attorneys declined to comment on the case.
This was not the first time Kauth had concerns about threats from his ex-wife. Early last year, he said he heard rumors she had talked about hiring a hitman and spoke to investigators, though no charges came from that incident.
“It didn’t really surprise me because she’s kind of that way,” he said.
Kauth said he was married to Stanley for 14 years before divorcing in 2019 and said he has spent more than a year now living in fear. He said he installed security cameras around his house and took extreme precautions, including going as far as building a “dummy” with his hat on it and putting it in the kitchen as a decoy in case she tried to shoot toward him from the backyard of his Parker County house.
The alleged chocolate plot particularly concerned Kauth because he believed Stanley hoped “it would get both of us,” referring to himself and his new wife.
“Quite possibly, I probably would’ve eaten them,” he said.
Now, he says he feels like a weight has been lifted.
“Relieved. Just relieved. I can rest much easier now,” he said. “I’ll never look at a box of chocolates the same.”
Stanley’s jury trial has been set for Oct. 20, according to court records.
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