JUNEAU — Marital strife allegedly led a Watertown man to attempt poisoning his wife by adding weed killer to her coffee.
Peter E. Zubke, 54, 400 N. Warren St., made his initial Dodge County Circuit Court appearance Monday on a felony charge of placing foreign objects in edibles, a provision of the state’s domestic abuse law.
Michelle R. Zubke told Watertown police in June that she suspected her husband had been poisoning her drinks with “chemicals or bleach” for three to four weeks.
She became suspicious when Peter brought her a cup of coffee from a gas station that tasted bitter. She then noticed that when Peter made coffee it was “foggy and sometimes smells strange, like chemicals,” according to a criminal complaint.
Michelle also reported that a 2-liter bottle of soda her husband had bought for her appeared sudsy, like dishwasher soap, and smelled funny. Michelle also said she found grass killer under the sink, which was strange because Peter never used a weed killing solution on their yard, according to the complaint.
Michelle told police that she wasn’t happy in her marriage and had stayed with her husband only because he said he could not live without her, according to the complaint.
When questioned by police, Peter said that a few months back “all hell blew loose” when he discovered that his wife had been seeing someone else. However, he said that he had done everything he could to make the marriage work, and if Michelle wanted to move out “he was done begging her to stay.”
When a detective asked Peter if he does lawn work, specifically weed control, Peter said he recently bought some weed killer to use around the house.
When asked about the strange smell and taste of his wife’s beverages, Peter reportedly said she didn’t have very good taste buds — and there was “no way” he could poison his wife.
However, Michelle gave the detective a small amount of the coffee in question for testing, along with the suspicious weed killer. Toxicology tests conducted in the State Crime Lab revealed three foreign chemicals in the coffee that were also found in the weed killer, according to the complaint.
Michelle told police that Peter then told her he had used the coffee pot to dilute the weed killer so he could spread it around the yard, according to the complaint.
Peter Zubke remains free on a $1,000 signature bond. He is scheduled to return to court in January for a preliminary examination. He could face up to 3 ½ years in prison and a $10,000 fine if convicted of the felony charge.
amartin@capitlanewspapers.com