BYU student attempts to kill wife

PROVO, Utah (AP) — A 26-year-old Brigham Young University student is being held for investigation after telling police he attempted to kill his wife with poison.

A probable-cause affidavit filed in Provo’s 4th District Court said Paul William Turner attempted to kill his spouse three times during the summer of 2001.

Turner was arrested and booked into the Utah County Jail Monday for investigation of attempted aggravated homicide. Judge Gary Stott set bail at $250,000 cash only.

Deputy Utah County Attorney Jeff Buhman said charges have not yet been filed.

Turner told officers that he first tried to poison his wife with cookies laced with rat poison, investigators said.

That attempt failed because his wife thought the cookies tasted “funny.”

Turner told officers he then tried wild mushrooms, which he had thought possibly could be poisonous. He put the mushrooms in a batch of spaghetti sauce, but it proved ineffective.

He said his final attempt was to swap a fish-tank cleaner for the medicine his wife injected daily to prevent blood clots during her pregnancy.

“She indicated that the injection hurt more than usual, but she’s fine,” police Capt. Brad Latham said. Also, the woman and her child were both healthy, he said.

Turner called police to confess after his Mormon bishop urged him to do so, Latham said.

Turner told police he no longer wanted to be married to his wife because she did not approve of his use of pornography, Latham said.

“He claims that it had to do with pornography and that being married to his wife didn’t allow him to live the lifestyle he wanted to live,” Latham said.