BENTONVILLE -- Prosecutors have formally charged a Rogers man accused of attempting to kill his wife with rat poison.
Bob Lee Steward, 45, is charged with attempted capital murder, a Class Y felony.
Felony
A Class Y felony is punishable with a prison sentence ranging from 10 to 40 years or life imprisonment.
Source: Staff report
Steward, who is being held on $200,000 bond in the Benton County Jail, was arrested Sept. 25.
The criminal information signed by Josh Robinson, deputy prosecutor, accuses Steward of placing rat poison in his wife's coffee.
Rogers police were called at 8:29 a.m. Sept. 25 to 3600 W. Lupine Drive. Janet Steward was in the driveway and told police her husband put rat poison in her coffee, according to a probable cause affidavit.
Janet Steward told police her husband told her he was going to kill himself. She later heard a gunshot come from the bathroom.
Janet Steward told police her husband made her coffee while she was in the shower. She took a sip of the coffee and noticed a bitter taste. She said she poured the drink into the sink and noticed a green substance in the coffee, according to the affidavit.
Police found a white coffee cup with green residue in it and a package of rodent control under the sink when the home was searched.
Bob Steward told police he put rat poison pellets in his wife's coffee, but described it as a prank, according to court documents.
Bob Steward 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. He told police he watches police shows on television. About six months ago he watched a program where a man used rat poison to kill his wife, according to the affidavit.
Bob Steward told police he couldn't decide on using pellets or solid rat poison because he wanted his wife "to suffer a little bit," but not a lot because he felt like a prisoner in his home, the affidavit states.
He also was arrested Wednesday in connection with five counts of violating a no-contact order. He's accused of sending letters to his wife from the jail. Prosecutors haven't filed formal charges in connection with violating the no-contact order. A judge ordered him at the bond hearing not to have any direct or indirect contact with his his wife.
Robinson filed a motion Thursday requesting Steward's bond be revoked for violating the no-contact order.
He's accused of sending five letters to his wife, according to court documents. He wrote his wife to tell her how much he misses her and how sorry he was, according to a probable cause affidavit. In one letter he asks his wife to contact the prosecutor's office and have the charges against him dismissed.
Bob Steward's arraignment is scheduled for 8 a.m. Oct. 27 in Benton County Circuit Judge Brad Karren's court.
NW News on 10/21/2016