The adult children of a southwest Sydney man say they suspected their father of an alleged murder plot which saw his wife poisoned by tea laced with insecticide.
Stephan Wagner, 61, allegedly brewed cups of tea for his wife Glenda Wagner, 66, laced with the insecticide Ant-Rid bought from a supermarket, which caused her health to deteriorate.
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Police allege the poisoning dates as far back as December 2022.
A close friend of Glenda’s, Thelma Stoddard, told 7NEWS she was left “in shock” at the news.
“I was devastated … I couldn’t believe it,” she said.
“I just want to grab her and hold her … but I can’t.
“I mean she’s with friends and relatives but she’s not well … she’d said she was really sick.
But then this happened and I’m just … still in shock.”
Thelma said she used to go for walks with Thelma weekly, however, in recent years, their catch-ups had stopped as Glenda’s health deteriorated.
“She said the doctor doesn’t know what it is and then I thought oh it must be something in your genes,” she said.
But Thelma did have suspicions something wasn’t right.
Meanwhile Wagner’s children reportedly became suspicious of their father when their mother became unexplainably ill, the Daily Telegraph first reported.
Criminologist Dr Xanthe Mallet told Sunrise the family became concerned about the “pattern of hospitalisations” of Glenda.
“So they really became quite suspicious and that’s when they reported it to the police.”
Mallet explained Wagner faced a string of “very serious charges”.
“The most serious which is the intent to give poison to murder, and that carries a maximum charge of 25 years, plus an attempt to cause grievous bodily harm and endanger life,” she said.
“So these are very serious charges that he is facing.”
Wagner was arrested at their St Andrews home following a tip-off from Glenda’s family — a month after she was rushed to hospital, seriously unwell.
NSW Police released footage of Wagner as he was escorted out of his home by police in handcuffs.
A bottle of insecticide was also seized at the home and has been sent for forensic examination.
Wagner was taken to Campbelltown Police Station where he was charged with cause poison etc to be taken with intention to murder (DV), use poison etc so as to endanger life (DV), and use poison etc so as to inflict grievous bodily harm (DV).
The semi-retired businessman had dedicated much of his life to science research, 7NEWS understands, having worked on projects at the CSIRO. He had also previously worked at the Department of Industry, Innovation and Science until March 2023.
Court appearance
Wagner was refused police bail and appeared before Campbelltown Local Court via videolink from prison on Wednesday.
He did not apply for bail during his appearance.
While he remains behind bars, family and friends have been moving his wife out of the home.
Wagner will reappear in court on December 4.
– With reporting by Annie Pullar
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