Jail for fantasist who tried to poison his wife
Elizabeth thought she had motor neurone disease
A fantasist husband who poisoned his wife with laxatives and stole her money has been jailed for three- and- a- half years.
David Smith spun a web of lies, pretending he had cancer and telling wife Elizabeth, from Ayr, he was a millionaire who had been in the SAS.
But grandmother Liz, 62, said: “He put me through three- andahalf years of hell. He got what he deserved.”
Smith embarked on his reign of terror during their three- year relationship, which began in 2012 when they met while shopping in Ayr.
Smith, 62, who is from Telford in Shropshire, and Elizabeth were soon in regular contact.
Liz fell in love with someone she believed was “a wonderful, wonderful man”.
She said: “We got on so well from day one. I just thought I had met the perfect man.
“But he poisoned me and stole thousands from me.”
The lies began straight away, with Smith falsely claiming that he owned a factory which made top secret components for the MoD which he was planning to sell in a multi- million pound deal.
He also lied that his first wife was a ballerina who died in a car crash.
The former tool- maker even told the nail technician that he had been one of the SAS’s 1980 Iranian embassy siege heroes.
The couple married on Arran in January 2015 but Liz was so gaunt and unwell that her family thought she was dying.
On one occasion, she passed out in a bathroom and woke up covered in diarrhoea and vomit with father- of- three Smith hovering over her.
In fact, her husband was poisoning her by regularly slipping laxatives into food he had prepared for her, leaving her so thin and weak that she could hardly stand.
While his wife worried that she had motor neurone disease or another life- threatening condition, Smith was taking money from her bank account without permission.
Smith’s deceit finally unravelled when he staged a bizarre break- in at their home and Liz worked out that he had been lying to her.
Smith pleaded guilty to culpable and reckless conduct at Ayr Sheriff Court last month and was sentenced by sheriff John Montgomery yesterday ( Tuesday).
The sheriff told Smith he had caused “physical and mental anguish” to his victim and was guilty of a “prolonged and evil course of criminal conduct”.
He added: “It’s clear to me you must have known the effect of the maladministration of laxatives over a prolonged period.”
Liz cried tears of relief a s t h e s e n t e n c e w a s read out. She said: “He put me through three- and- a- half years of hell so it’s fitting that was what he got.
“He put me through so much mental and physical anguish. He got what he deserved.
“It’s fantastic that it’s over and I have got my life back. I just want to let it all sink in and get my head round everything I’ve been through.”
The years with her husband took a huge toll on Liz.
She said: “It has been a hellish ordeal. I am glad I came to court today so that I could get some closure and move on with my life.
“I thought I was going to collapse at the end. I am emotionally and physically drained.
“I am happy because I was scared he would walk away free.
“It’s an eye for an eye. It’s not sunk in. He showed no emotion when he got sent down.
“He is cold, emotionless and a manipulator. Maybe now he can think of how he’s ruined my life and everyone elses.
“It was really hard for me to come to court but I felt I had to. I wanted to see justice being done.”