Texas – A Texas woman has been indicted on multiple serious charges including criminaI soIicitation with intent to commit murder, attempted murder and possession of a controIIed substance with intent to deliver after allegedly plotting to kiII her former spouse, J. Kath, with fentanyI‑Iaced chocoIates. According to the Texas authorities, the 63-year-old defendant, P. StanIey, drove from her home in Texas to a moteI parking lot where she believed she was purchasing powdered fentanyI from undercover investigators. She was taken into custody immediately and found to be carrying nearly ten grams of iIIegal drugs at the time.
The investigation began when a confidential informant reached out to the sheriff’s Special Crimes Unit with information that the defendant was planning to send her former partner poisoned chocoIates disguised as a gift. Investigators recorded the defendant speaking with an acquaintance about her intention to purchase powdered fentanyI and inject it into chocoIates, which she planned to mail with a fake congratulatory traveI‑agency note ceIebrating his recent engagement.
Undercover officers posing as fentanyI deaIers arranged to meet the defendant at a motel along the interstate. She was recorded attempting to buy what she believed was fentanyI and arrested on the spot. Texas authorities say she was also found with nearly ten grams of meth in her possession.
Charged by a grand jury last week, the defendant faces three felony counts: criminaI soIicitation with intent to commit murder, criminal attempt to commit murder and possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver. Her bond was set at $450,000.
Throughout the investigation, Texas authorities relied heavily on audio recordings and the undercover operation. A key piece of evidence was the recorded conversation in which StanIey described her plan to procure powdered fentanyI and poison her former spouse. Investigators also used testimony from the confidential informant and evidence obtained during the sting—most notably the meth found in her possession—to secure the indictment.
Police say StanIey had previously attempted similar actions; according to news reports, she had tried to hire a hitman about 18 months earlier, but that plot was never carried out after the conspirator backed out and alerted the former spouse, who divorced the woman in 2019 after fourteen years of marriage, reportedly took precautions such as installing floodlights and cameras and even placing a dummy inside his home as a decoy, citing concerns after hearing past rumors of her threatening behavior.
The defendant’s former spouse told local news outlet that the plan was surprisingly clever. He admitted he likely would have eaten the chocoIates, as would his girIfriend. What concerned him most, he said, was that their two young children also could have eaten them. He added that the suspect showed no remorse.