A suburban Detroit man was sentenced to 60 weekend days in jail Thursday for poisoning his wife’s coffee.
Brian Kozlowski, of Macomb County, Michigan, routinely put sleeping pills in his wife’s coffee throughout July 2018, prosecutors said.
Therese Kozlowski filed for divorce in May 2018. She was suspicious of Brian Kozlowski and put cameras in the kitchen of their home.
The cameras captured video of Brian Kozlowski putting diphenhydramine, an antihistamine mainly used to treat allergies or for insomnia, into her coffee on multiple occasions, according to authorities.
Therese Kozlowski said she felt tired, nauseous and had blurred vision after drinking the tainted coffee, according to prosecutors.
The last coffee that he made for Therese Kozlowski was analyzed and was found to contain 127 milliliters of diphenhydramine, which experts said is the equivalent of eight sleeping pills.
Brian Kozlowski pleaded no contest to charges of poisoning a drink in June, which carries a maximum jail sentence of 15 years.
Macomb County Prosecutor Eric Smith sought the minimum sentence of 19 months in jail.
“This defendant deserves nothing less than a prison cell for his actions,” Smith said this week.
Therese Kozlowski told a judge Thursday that she considered the poisoning “attempted murder,” according to NBC affiliate WDIV-TV.
“Brian was trying to kill me to keep his comfortable life from slipping away” she said in court.
Prosecutors called the 60-day sentence “a slap in the face” and said they are planning to appeal the decision.
“The Court seemed more focused on ensuring the defendant’s freedom & ability to work than the victim’s safety,” Smith tweeted. “It is troubling to think that someone who commits such a reckless crime, putting so many people at risk, walks away with just a slap on the wrist.”
Therese and Brian Kozlowski are now divorced.
