A woman in Massachusetts is being accused of poisoning her husband with soup, according to reports. Police say a scammer pretending to be a soap opera star convinced her to do it.
Roxanne Doucette, 64, is now being charged with attempted murder.
"I didn't poison him," Doucette told local station WBZ-TV from the doorway of her house Monday.
"I've never ever tried to poison him in any way whatsoever," she said. "I love him very, very much and I would never try to kill anyone."
It all began on Dec. 3 when Doucette called 911 after her 73-year-old husband Paul became unresponsive after consuming soup she had made, according to WBZ’s review of police documents. Doucette had claimed the soup was simply old.
At the hospital, their daughter grew suspicious and began sifting through her mother’s phone.
In the phone were messages from a scammer pretending to be actor Thorsten Kaye of "The Bold and the Beautiful," saying he wanted to hook up with Doucette.
"You have to get rid of your husband honey — I need you so much,” said one message, according to court documents.
Doucette had responded with, "Making an amazing soup. Special potion. Maybe I could collect life insurance."
When officers tried to seize Doucette’s phone for evidence, she allegedly fought and kicked them. For that, she received charges of resisting arrest and assaulting an officer.
Despite Paul becoming very sick, he survived.
A limited toxicology report came back negative for Paul, but his wife is being ordered by the court to stay away from him.
"I just want him to come home," Doucette told WBZ. "I just love him so much."
Towsend Police Chief James Sartell is urging people not to make any quick judgments.
"I just tell everybody to just kind of take a step back, take a deep breath. Think things through before you spread things, or before you think you know what's going on," the police chief told WBZ. "Sometimes it's a little more complex than it seems."
Doucette’s story is not the only one of its kind. With artificial intelligence, criminals have been able to trick people into believing they’re celebrities, and convince them to go along with certain plans.
For example, in Orlando, Florida, a woman named Margarita Brito started receiving messages from someone pretending to be actor Kevin Costner after following his Facebook page.
Though she was skeptical, she responded. The scammer provided "proof" that he was Costner, like a doctored passport and driver’s license. The scammer also used AI to make it look like Costner was the one behind calls through WhatsApp, according to local station WFTV.
The scammer used his connection to press Brito to send him $3,000 in gift cards. A glitch revealed the imposter’s real face, so Brito never ended up sending any money, but the scammer had enough information to charge $300 worth of food to her Uber Eats account.
The stories serve as cautionary tales to anyone believing famous names are contacting them, especially when urging them to send money or commit crimes.
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