Ohio woman arrested in husband's poisoning death
CINCINNATI (AP) — A northeastern Ohio woman whose husband died after authorities say he unwittingly ingested a drink spiked with antifreeze was arrested Friday on a murder charge.
Teresa Kotomski was taken into custody at her Conneaut home by the Ashtabula County Sheriff's Office after a grand jury indicted her earlier this week.
Investigators say new information led to the 53-year-old woman's arrest in the poisoning death years ago of her husband, Raymond Kotomski, but they declined to be specific or discuss a possible motive.
The couple had been married five years when 65-year-old Raymond Kotomski died at a hospital three days after he was found unconscious in his Pierpont home Aug. 13, 2009.
An autopsy found he had died of complications from ethylene glycol toxicity. Ethylene glycol most commonly is found in antifreeze, which is sweet to the taste and can be easily disguised in sweet foods and drinks.
"This case goes to show that families should not give up hope that a suspect will be identified in the death of a loved one, even if several years have passed," Attorney General Mike DeWine said in a statement.
It was unclear Friday whether Teresa Kotomski has an attorney. Authorities say she was living with family at the home in Conneaut, about 65 miles northeast of Cleveland. A message left at the home seeking comment was not immediately returned.
Sheriff's Lt. Terry Moisio said Teresa Kotomski wasn't initially a suspect in her husband's death. He described her as subdued during her arrest Friday.
"She didn't appear to be upset. She was just very quiet," he said.
Raymond Kotomski, originally from Pittsburgh, had been a longtime corrections officer at Western Penitentiary.
"He was a great father, a good husband," his former wife, Marylou Kotomski, told The Associated Press. "He was a very stand-up guy. He was loved by many."
Marylou Kotomski, who still lives in Pittsburgh, said she never met her ex-husband's new wife and never talked about her with the three children she and Raymond Kotomski had during their 36 years of marriage.
"I'm just shaking," she said. "I knew him better than anybody. I go to my husband's cemetery, I've talked to him, I've prayed for him. I've prayed for justice and I hope everything works out."
She said her ex-husband was extremely close to his children and grandchildren. His oldest grandson, Nikkolas Mamula, 27, posted an online message to his grandfather Tuesday, which would have been Kotomski's 70th birthday.
"You were sadly taken from us in 2009," Mamula wrote. "That we still don't have any answers for and it hurts every day."
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