Glenda Wagner tonight remains in hospital, one day after her husband Stephan Wagner was arrested at their St Andrews home and charged with attempting to murder her.
Police alleged that Mr Wagner was using the insecticide Ant-Rid to lace Mrs Wagner’s tea over a two-year period, leading to a significant decline in her health.
9News understands that while she had been sick for a while, the alarm bells were sounded last month after her children found her unresponsive, sparking the formal investigation.
Thelma, a friend of Mrs Wagner’s for nearly a decade, told 9News that she was shocked by the accusations.
“I was devasted, I couldn’t believe it, I was in shock,” she said.
“I feel guilty now that I didn’t go up and see her and see what was going on.”
She said Mrs Wagner’s health issues were always a mystery.
“She said, ‘I’d love to come down and see your mum’, but she said, ‘I’m so sick’, and she said, ‘the doctor doesn’t know what it is’,” Thelma told 9News.
Neighbours told 9News that Mr Wagner had allegedly spun several stories about why his wife’s health was declining, including blaming an auto-immune disease, asthma, and arthritis.
Tonight, Mrs Wagner’s doctors are assessing the effects borax decahydrate is having on her body.
Borax decahydrate is the main active ingredient found in Ant-Rid.
Small amounts of poisoning from the substance can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, and abdominal pain.
In children, swallowing 5g to 10g of borax can cause toxic shock and death.
A sample of tea from their home has been tested by police.
