Radio Talk Show Host in Missouri Charged With Murdering His Wife

tbo.com | AP ^ | 11/7/05 | Denise Lavoie

[LibWhacker]

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) - A Missouri radio talk show host was arrested on murder charges Monday for allegedly poisoning his wife by spiking her Gatorade with a chemical found in antifreeze.

James Keown, 31, was arrested at the radio station where he worked in Jefferson City, Mo. He later made a court appearance via video and said he would not fight efforts to return him to Massachusetts.

Prosecutors said he slowly poisoned Julie Keown, 31, with ethylene glycol while the couple were living in Massachusetts in 2004.

District Attorney Martha Coakley said the motive may have been financial: Julie Keown had a $250,000 life insurance policy, but her husband was never able to collect because her death was under investigation.

The couple moved to Waltham, Mass., from Missouri in 2004. In May of that year, Julie Keown, a registered nurse, began suffering from nausea, vomiting and dizziness and developed a rash on her leg. She slipped into a coma in September and died.

A preliminary autopsy showed she was poisoned with ethylene glycol, but it took another year of testing before prosecutors had the proof to bring charges, Coakley said.

In the meantime, her husband moved back to Missouri, where he covered the Capitol for Jefferson City radio station KLIK and hosted the "Party Line" talk show.

Keown had told fellow reporters that his wife had died, but he did not say how. He was known around the Capitol as a friendly and hardworking reporter.

Officials at the radio station referred questions about Keown to its corporate offices in Columbia, Mo. Messages left there were not immediately returned.

Shawna Keown, 21, said at her brother's hearing in Jefferson City that he was innocent. "The truth will come out," she said. "We hope for the best and I believe in him."

[doubled]

Was he a liberal or conservative?

[End Times Sentinel]

poisoning his wife by spiking her Gatorade with a chemical found in antifreeze.

Hater-ade, it'll do it every time.

Owl_Eagle

(If what I just wrote makes you sad or angry,

 it was probably sarcasm)

[b4its2late]

Yikes.

[sticker]

If the media doesn't give his political leaning, odds are he's a lib

[battlegearboat]

If I had had to move to Massachusetts, I'd ah drunk it for sure.

[DuckFan4ever]

Was he a liberal or conservative?

The guy was evil. Beyond that nothing else counts.

[justshutupandtakeit]

This is a slowly working poison?

[7thson]

I guess this solves the question - does Gatorade taste any better than anti-freeze.

[i_dont_chat]

Keown had told fellow reporters that his wife had died, but he did not say how. He was known around the Capitol as a friendly and hardworking reporter.

I'd like to see the headline changed to:

Massachusetts Reporter Charged with Murdering His Wife

[HEY4QDEMS]

Was he a liberal or conservative?

If he did do it, he's a scumbag. I couldn't care less about his political philosophy.

[VoiceOfBruck]

Doesn't Dr. Pepper have ethylene glycol in it? Anyone have a can handy?

[coloradan]

Propylene glycol, probably. It's nontoxic.

[tubebender]

I thought Jim Hightower was from Texas...

[TASMANIANRED]

suffering from nausea, vomiting and dizziness and developed a rash on her leg.

They should have looked for arsenic or selenium because these aren't the symptoms of ethylene glycol toxicity.

[L98Fiero]

"If he did do it, he's a scumbag. I couldn't care less about his political philosophy."

Agreed but I think the implication (rightfully, IMO) is that had he been conservative, that would have been pointed out in the title, most likely.

[NonValueAdded]

Was he a liberal or conservative?

They don't say so what do you think?

[Doogle]

"The truth will come out,"

...she wouldn't eat the mushrooms

Doogle

[DHak]

ok, scratch that method off the list............

[LibWhacker]

Good point!