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Myrle Miller of Winfield was convicted of first-degree murder for her husband's 2018 death, as well as felony theft by deception, forgery, insurance fraud, and related counts, said Attorney General Michelle Henry's Office in a release.
In the months before John Nichols died, a grand jury investigation found that Miller had systemically drained her husband's bank accounts and forged his signature on checks, authorities said.
She secretly arranged to make herself the sole beneficiary of Nichols' two life insurance policies, then went on to take out loans against those sums, the AG's Office continued.
In the meantime, Miller was corresponding with other men on social media, at least one of whom she claimed to be "in love" with, a former friend testified.
When officials from the Union-Snyder Agency on Aging stopped by the couple's home to investigate a report of financial exploitation, Miller panicked, promising her son that she would "handle it," per the release.
That's when investigators say she mixed "large amounts" of her husband's medication with her own and slipped it in his cup of coffee, killing him.
“The defendant was systematically emptying her husband’s bank accounts, and upon being found out, made the deliberate and intentional decision to kill him,” AG Henry wrote in a statement.
“It is hard to fathom acts more cold, calculated, and self-serving, and while we cannot bring back the life of Mr. Nichols, we hope today’s verdict offers a measure of justice to his family and friends.”
The 78-year-old convicted killer was remanded to the Union County Prison following the verdict on Monday, April 24, authorities said. When she returns to court for sentencing, she will face the mandatory penalty of life imprisonment, the AG's Office added.
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