2014: HEREFORD SOLDIER JAILED FOR PLOTTING TO SABOTAGE PARTNER’S PREGNANCY PILLS WITH POISON
A HEREFORD soldier has been jailed for two years after a plot to sabotage his partner's pregnancy pills with poison was discovered.Prosecutor James Dunstan told how Fletcher had drilled holes in her pregnancy pills intending to fill them with a poison he had ordered from India.
The plan was uncovered when his partner intercepted a package containing the poison, leading her to hospital and the police with her suspicions.
Mr Dunstan explained Fletcher had been in a loving relationship with Helen Fry for three years, but disputes arose when she expressed her desire to have a baby.
Fletcher's behavior changed when he said he was not ready for a family.
The couple split briefly but reconciled when she announced her pregnancy, prompting Fletcher to devise his plan.
He bought equipment to drill small holes into her pills and fill them with a substance that could cause a miscarriage, also purchasing paint to cover the holes.
Fletcher, of Red Norman Rise, Holmer, Hereford, pleaded guilty to procuring poison intending to cause a miscarriage.
It was noted that he had a blameless military career, and the court was told he made a meticulously planned attack that was thwarted when the package was intercepted.
The court emphasized Fletcher's military service, citing his bravery and respect in the regiment, but also highlighted that he made a plan because he was not ready for a family.
Had his plan succeeded, it would have amounted to interference with a pregnancy under the 1861 Act designed to prevent women obtaining poison and to discourage such interference.
