BENTONVILLE — A Rogers man was sentenced to 28 years in prison Thursday after he admitted to trying to kill his wife with rat poison.
Bob Steward, 45, pleaded guilty to attempted capital murder. Jury selection had been scheduled to begin Thursday afternoon.
Steward told police in September he put rat poison pellets in his wife’s coffee, but described it as a prank. He told police he had been thinking of killing his wife for a year and thought about setting their home on fire while she was in the shower, according to an affidavit.
Steward put rat poison in his wife’s coffee with the intention of killing her, Joshua Robinson, deputy prosecutor, told Circuit Judge Brad Karren.
Janet Steward told Rogers police Sept. 25 her husband put rat poison in her coffee, according to court documents. Janet Steward said her husband made her coffee while she was in the shower. She took a sip of the coffee and noticed a bitter taste. She poured the drink into the sink and saw a green substance in the coffee, according to a probable cause affidavit.
Police found a white coffee cup with green residue in it and a package of rodent control under the sink.
Karren accepted the plea agreement and Steward’s guilty plea.
Steward was sentenced to 28 years in the Arkansas Department of Correction. He must abide by a suspended sentence agreement for 12 years after his release from prison. He received 292 days of jail credit for time he spent in jail awaiting his trial.
Steward was ordered not to have any contact with his wife after his arrest.