A former Ridgefield woman accused of trying to kill the father of her youngest child by poisoning his wine is now facing more criminal charges. Kristin Hogan, 33, turned herself in to Connecticut State Police Thursday morning on an active arrest warrant for charges of evidence tampering and three counts of perjury.
The new criminal case relates to a yearslong legal battle in probate court with a man claiming to be the biological father of Hogan’s two oldest children. According to the new arrest warrant, Hogan is accused of providing false information in the paternity proceedings and bringing her nephew rather than her own son to DNA testing.
Hogan posted a $50,000 bond on the new charges and then went straight to Danbury Superior Court for a previously scheduled appearance in her other criminal case.
In October, state police arrested the mom of three on attempted murder and interfering charges involving her youngest son’s father, which whom she’s in the middle of a custody battle. Hogan is of secretly pouring ethylene glycol, the chemical found in antifreeze, into an open bottle of wine at the man’s house in Ridgefield. She was released on a $1 million bond but with the conditions of GPS monitoring and home confinement at her grandparents' house in Massachusetts. The judge also issued protective orders barring Hogan from contact with her ex, their young son and her other two kids.
In court Thursday, Hogan’s attorneys requested a hearing to try to modify the orders pertaining to her three children. Judge Thomas Saadi set a date of Jan. 27 to hear arguments from both sides. Saadi also appointed an attorney to represent the kids.
“She's hanging in there. She misses her kids and that was what today was about,” said Hogan’s attorney Mark Sherman after the brief appearance. “At the arraignment, the judge, in an abundance of caution, suspended contact with her three children. This motion that's going to happen in January is going to hopefully start the reunification process.”
Sherman and attorney Ryan O’Neill, who also represents Hogan, declined to comment on the new charges, except to acknowledge it pertained to “a probate court hearing and the offering of some evidence.” At that time, state police hadn’t announced the additional charges or released the arrest warrant, which they did late Thursday afternoon.
Regarding the case they were in court for, O’Neill said the discovery process is ongoing and the defense is waiting to get a lot of the state’s evidence.
“You'll hear from us at the appropriate time,” O’Neill answered when asked if there was anything about the allegations that he feels should be clarified to the public.
"Just have some patience. Things aren't exactly what they seem to be at this point in time,” Sherman added.
Attorney Jill O’Connor, who represents the victim in this case, was also at the court hearing but declined to comment.
According to the arrest warrant, the poisoning occurred on Aug 7. Police believe it happened while the man was at the courthouse for a family court hearing that Hogan had requested but never came to.
Court records obtained by News 12 show Hogan had filed an application for relief from abuse, alleging, “controlling, threatening, and verbally abusive behavior,” and claiming, “I live in constant fear of what he may do next.” The judge dropped the matter when Hogan didn’t appear for the hearing.
Hogan’s ex told police that a few days later, on Aug. 10, he drank a small amount of wine that was in the refrigerator before bed, then woke up several times increasingly ill, according to the warrant. When his mom arrived to bring him to the hospital, she found him, "slurring his words, staggering and vomiting," the warrant said.
Doctors initially thought he was having a stroke, then determined it was signs ethylene glycol poisoning, which led to him being admitted to the ICU and put on dialysis, according to the warrant.
When police went through Hogan’s phone, they found searches for various lethal poisons and how much would kill a person, the warrant said. Hogan had also searched "penalty for not appearing for court hearing on your own motion," the warrant said.
Hogan initially denied she put the toxic chemical in the wine, claiming she was in Rhode Island at the time, but location data from her phone put in the vicinity of the house on Aug. 7, according to the warrant. Hogan then confessed, saying “she never intended to kill him but just wanted to make him sick as payback for being mentally abusive,” according to the warrant. Hogan also admitted to pouring a small amount of mono ethylene glycol into an iced tea bottle of the victim’s at a different date, per the warrant.
According to the warrant, the victim gave police a motive for Hogan’s alleged actions, saying if he died, she would get full custody of their child and full ownership of the house. Court records show that house, which they bought together, is the focus of an ongoing property case between them.