California man accused of killing wife by poisoning food with fentanyl
ELK GROVE, Calif. - A Sacramento County man was arrested for allegedly poisoning his wife to death, months after she succumbed to a lethal dose of fentanyl in her food, authorities said.
Glennis Smith, 48, was arrested on Wednesday on suspicion of killing his wife, 49-year-old Jennifer Smith-Floyd on January 12, according to the Elk Grove Police Department. Smith had intentionally put fentanyl in her food on an earlier occasion as well, authorities said.
Smith called 911 to report that his wife was unconscious and not breathing, authorities said.
Authorities said the couple had been married five years but lived separately for the last few months before Smith-Floyd's death, KCRA reports.
Sgt. Jason Jimenez said first responders tried to revive Smith-Floyd but weren't able to. She was pronounced dead.
Jimenez said that was when a homicide investigation began.
"Officers learned that she was admitted to a hospital just the day before due to an allergic reaction to some food that she had eaten," he said.
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Authorities said the investigation revealed that Smith had intentionally put fentanyl in his wife's food on two occasions without her knowledge, and the second time proved to be fatal. They also confirmed that Smith took his wife home from the hospital after the first incident.
"We were able to collect some food items that had traces of fentanyl in them," said Jimenez.
A few months after Smith-Floyd's death, the estranged couple's travel trailer caught fire. Investigators determined that Smith was responsible for starting the fire, in an apparent attempt to collect insurance money.
Smith was arrested on suspicion of murder, arson, and insurance fraud. He was booked into Sacramento County Jail.