An Arizona woman who served her husband a fish tank cleaner-laced cocktail to ward off the coronavirus is under investigation for murder, police say.
The Washington Free Beacon reports the Mesa City Police Department’s homicide division has opened an investigation into the death of Gary Lenius.
The Free Beacon first reported that his wife, Wanda, served him soda mixed with fish tank cleaner in an attempt to prevent the coronavirus.
She told several news outlets that they decided to drink the deadly mixture after hearing President Donald Trump praise one of its ingredients, chloroquine phosphate. Gary Lenius died on March 22.
"We weren't big supporters of [Trump], but we did see that they were using it in China and stuff," she told the Free Beacon. "And we just made a horrible, tragic mistake.”
She said they ingested "one teaspoon and some soda" each, at least four times the lethal limit.
The detective overseeing the case said it is an ongoing investigation and declined additional comment to the Free Beacon.
"As this is an active investigation, I cannot go into any details at this time regarding the case," Teresa Van Galder said.
The police investigation was launched after the Free Beacon published a series of stories on the couple and the fish tank cleaner scenario. A NBC News report then catapulted the story into the national spotlight.
Friends of the couple told the media outlets they were skeptical that he would knowingly take the fish tank treatment.
"What bothers me about this is that Gary was a very intelligent man, a retired [mechanical] engineer who designed systems for John Deere in Waterloo, Iowa, and I really can't see the scenario where Gary would say, ‘Yes, please, I would love to drink some of that Koi fish tank cleaner,'" one of his close friends told the Free Beacon. "It just doesn't make any sense.”