Mother Sentenced to 40 Years for Injecting Estranged Husband with Fatal Poison

Amanda Hovonec, a 37-year-old mother from Wapakoneta, Ohio, has been sentenced to 40 years in prison for the murder of her estranged ex-husband, Timothy Hovanec. Hovonec pleaded guilty to the crime in front of a district judge on Tuesday.

The investigation revealed that Hovonec ambushed Timothy after he dropped off their children at her home on the evening of April 24. Dashcam footage from Timothy's car showed Hovonec wrestling him to the ground before injecting him with M99, a powerful anesthetic used on large animals. Timothy, a 36-year-old father of three who worked as a US State Department researcher, died from the injection.

Hovonec and her mother, Anita Green, were waiting for Timothy when he arrived at Hovonec's residence. Green ushered the children inside while Hovonec attacked Timothy in the driveway. Hovonec held Timothy by the neck until he lost consciousness, then placed a plastic bag over his head and body.

Hovonec admitted to injecting Timothy with M99, which she obtained from her paramour, Anthony Theodorou. Theodorou had also allegedly dug a shallow grave a day before Timothy's death. Green drove Hovonec and Theodorou to the burial site on a farm that Hovonec's grandfather used to own.

Green pleaded guilty to being an accessory to the crimes committed by Hovonec and Theodorou. She was sentenced to 10 years in prison, followed by two years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $2,108,559 in restitution.