Wife Was Caught on Dashcam Injecting Husband with Poison, Which Killed Him in Minutes: ‘Get Off of Me!'
Amanda Hovanec, 37, pleaded guilty to distributing a controlled substance that resulted in the death of her husband Timothy in April 2022
An Ohio woman was sentenced to 40 years in prison for injecting her husband with a poison that federal authorities said killed him within minutes during a child custody exchange in 2022
Amanda Hovanec pleaded guilty to multiple charges, including distributing a controlled substance that resulted in the death of her husband Timothy, with whom she shared three children
According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Hovanec admitted to injecting her husband — a U.S. Department of State worker — with M-99 or Etorphine, a controlled substance that is about 1000 times more potent than morphine
An Ohio woman was sentenced to 40 years in prison for injecting her husband with a poison that federal authorities said killed him within minutes during a child custody exchange in 2022.
The sentence was handed down to 37-year-old Amanda Hovanec after she pleaded guilty to multiple charges, including distributing a controlled substance that resulted in the death of her husband Timothy, with whom she shared three children, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio said in a statement on Tuesday, Oct. 1.
Authorities said Hovanec committed the crime on April 24, 2022, after Timothy arrived to drop off their three daughters at her Wapakoneta, Ohio, home. The attack was captured on dash camera video, which authorities obtained from Timothy’s abandoned car in Dayton, Ohio, after he failed to check out of his hotel and was reported missing.
In the footage, Hovanec and her mother, Anita Green, are seen waiting outside the home near the garage. Hovanec is then seen walking towards Timothy’s car and telling the couple’s children, “I have a surprise for you inside,” before the children enter the home with Green.
Seconds later, Timothy can be heard saying, “What the heck are you doing? Did you just assault me?” and then, “Get away from me… Get off of me,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The footage also showed Hovanec pulling on her husband’s shirt as he tried to use his cellphone, eventually knocking it out of his hand.
“She then pulled on his back to bring him to the ground, holding him around the neck until his body went limp and he became unresponsive, lying on the driveway,” the statement reads. “Hovanec stood up, picked up her husband’s cellphone, removed his smart watch, and turned off his vehicle’s engine, at which point the dash camera stopped recording.”
According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Hovanec admitted to injecting her husband — a U.S. Department of State worker — with M-99 or Etorphine, a controlled substance that is about 1000 times more potent than morphine and is typically used in veterinary medicine.
Hovanec also said she disposed of Timothy’s car and buried his body in a wooded area near her home, per the statement.
Authorities said the killing stemmed from a custody dispute over the couple’s children that began years prior. Hovanec filed for divorce against her husband in 2020, when she returned to the U.S. after living in South Africa for two years for her husband’s job. While there, authorities said Hovanec had a relationship with Anthony Theodorou, a South African citizen.
“In December 2021, she began to deny her husband visitation with their children despite a court order to permit it,” authorities said. “After her husband filed several contempt motions against Hovanec for denying visitation, a judge ordered that the children be given visitation with their father in April 2022.”
The judge further ordered that Timothy become the “residential parent and legal custodian of their children” for two months that summer, beginning in May.” However, that agreement had yet to start at the time of Timothy’s killing.
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Court records cited by the U.S. Attorney’s Office state Hovanec considered killing her husband for at least a year before the murder and had considered alternate means to do so, including hiring a hitman, before settling on injecting him with M-99.
Authorities said Hovanec obtained the substance through Theodorou, who was in Ohio at the time of the murder and helped Hovanec bury her husband’s body.
As for Green, who both Hovanec and Theodorou confirmed knew about the plan to murder Timothy in advance, was charged as an accessory after the fact. Authorities said she agreed to drive them and Timothy’s body to the grave site, which was dug in advance of the killing.
“Hovanec’s violent and intentional actions were cold-blooded, calculated, and cruel. Her extreme malevolence toward her husband and complete disregard for how his murder would affect their innocent children is incomprehensible and unforgivable,” U.S. Attorney Rebecca Lutzko said.
In addition to her 40-year sentence, Hovanec was ordered to serve 10 years of supervised release and pay more than $2 million in restitution.
Green was sentenced to 10 years in prison and two years of supervised release after pleading guilty to being an accessory to the crimes. Meanwhile, Theodorou is expected to be sentenced on Thursday, Oct. 3.
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