A 72-year-old Kentucky man faces multiple charges after allegedly threatening to kill his wife, whom he accused of poisoning his deviled eggs with Tylenol. Police responded to a home in Pike County where he was found with a shotgun. He reportedly expressed regret for not harming her earlier.
Ronald Coots, 72, was arrested on Friday and booked into the Pike County Detention Center in Pikeville, Kentucky. He faces charges of first-degree burglary, first-degree wanton endangerment, first-degree unlawful imprisonment, and third-degree terroristic threatening, according to jail records reviewed by Law&Crime and regional CBS affiliate WYMT. The incident occurred that afternoon at a residence on Mingo Street in Pike County, where Coots' wife had called Kentucky State Police, claiming her husband was trying to kill her. The wife and another woman at the home told officers that Coots had 'freaked out' and attempted to enter the locked house by breaking a window. A trooper arrived to find Coots on the porch holding a shotgun. The officer ordered him to drop the weapon; Coots initially did not comply but eventually obeyed. Coots was bleeding heavily from his arm, which he had injured by punching the window. While the trooper treated his wound, Coots allegedly said his wife was 'trying to kill him' by putting Tylenol in his deviled eggs. He also stated, 'should've blew her brains out.' Authorities noted blood throughout the house and a bloody handprint on the bathroom door. Coots is scheduled to appear in court on March 26.