A Long Island plumber whose marriage had crumbled after he admitted to his wife that he was gay told cops he laced her coffee with cyanide because he couldn’t bear to see her with anyone else, cops said yesterday.
The mother of two, Maureen Steeves, 41, suffered massive damage to major organs and is brain dead. She isn’t expected to recover.
David Steeves said he hatched the plot to poison her because “I can’t stand the thought of her being with someone else,” according to Suffolk County police.
The Center Moriches man pleaded not guilty yesterday to attempted murder.
“He denies the charges, and stands before the court innocent,” said Steeves’ lawyer, Joseph Hanshe. “He says the police roughed him up and forced him to give a confession.”
Hanshe said his client had started the divorce process with his wife.