Children allegedly suspected father was poisoning wife with ant-rid

There has been a strange turn of events after a respected businessman was charged with attempting to kill his wife by poisoning her tea.

Stephan Wagner, 61, has been charged with poisoning a woman by spiking her tea with insecticide. Picture: Facebook

A Sydney businessman accused of poisoning his wife’s tea with insecticide for 18 months in a bid to kill her was allegedly caught out by his own children.

On Tuesday, police arrested 61-year-old Stephan Wagner at the home he shared with his wife Glenda, 66, following reports from their adult children, who raised the alarm after their mum became seriously ill at the end of 2022.

Stephan Wagner is alleged to have poisoned his wife. Picture: Supplied

The children reportedly feared Mr Wagner was using the insecticide Ant-Rid in her tea, marking the bottle to see if it was being used, the Daily Telegraph reports.

Ant-Rid contains borax which is toxic to humans if consumed.

While searching the couple’s St Andrews home in Sydney’s west, police seized a bottle of insecticide.

According to court documents, Mr Wagne allegedly administered the poison between January 2022 and September this year.

Mr Wagner has been charged with causing poison to be taken with the intention to murder in a domestic violence setting, using poison so as to endanger life and using poison to inflict grievous bodily harm.

Stephan Wagner, 61, has been charged with poisoning a woman by spiking her tea with insecticide. Picture: Facebook

He appeared briefly in Campbelltown Local Court on Wednesday via videolink from prison wearing an orange jumper and a collared shirt.

His solicitor Rylie Hahn-Hamilton did not apply for bail and he will reappear in court later this year.

Mr Wagner will remain in custody on remand, but an AVO has also been taken out by police for his wife’s protection and he has been ordered to stay at least a kilometre away from where she lives and works.

The couple’s home in Sydney’s west. Picture: Supplied

On his LinkedIn profile, Mr Wagner describes himself as a semi-retired businessman who worked at the Department of Industry, Innovation and Science until March last year.

Under his experience, he also says that he previously worked at the University of Western Sydney as a part-time lecturer and at Telstra and Cisco.

Mr Wagner will next appear in court on December 4.

Originally published as Children allegedly suspected father was poisoning wife with ant-rid