WILKES-BARRE, Pa. — A Pennsylvania woman who pleaded guilty to killing her husband by slipping rat poison into his food and drinks will be released from prison next week.
Fifty-three-year-old Joann Curley will be free Monday after serving a 20-year sentence for the 1991 death of her husband, Robert Curley.
Prosecutors say Curley poisoned her husband with the chemical thallium for about a year so she could collect $300,000 in insurance policies and keep him from spending $1.7 million she won in a lawsuit.
The victim's sister, Susan Curley Grady, told The Citizens Voice that she feels Joann Curley should be serving a life sentence.
Joann Curley reached a plea deal in 1997 with prosecutors who intended to seek the death penalty.
Tests showed Robert Curley had 900 times the lethal dose of thallium in his system.