Everything’s not rosy in this Pleasantville.
An Iowa woman from the tiny city that bears the same name as the 1998 film “Pleasantville” is accused of poisoning her husband with eyedrops at least twice last year, according to police.
Daisy Zantjer, 39, was arrested last Tuesday more than a year after she allegedly spiked her hubby’s drinks with the over-the-counter product that contains ingredients including the “harmful” tetrahydrozoline hydrochloride, according to court documents.
The eyedrops were placed in her spouse’s drink on two separate occasions in July 2023, according to a criminal complaint obtained by WHO 13.
“Daisy Zantjer did admit during an interview to administering a harmful substance, on two separate occasions, called tetrahydrozoline hydrochloride to her husband,” the complaint stated about the July 2023 incidents, according to Law and Crime.
Her husband survived the alleged poisonings but was hospitalized after struggling to breathe after drinking the tainted beverages, KCCI reported.
Ingesting tetrahydrozoline hydrochloride can lead to sleepiness, low blood pressure and a dangerously slow heart rate, according to Poison Control.
“When you ingest it, it very rapidly can cross the blood barrier and have toxic effects within your blood, your brain, your central nervous system, and quickly affects the whole body,” Dr. Brooke Johnson told KCCI.
More serious symptoms can include falling into a coma and seizures, according to Mount Sinai.
Zantjer was charged with a pair of counts each of administering harmful substances and domestic abuse – injury or mental illness, according to the station. She is being held in the Marion County Jail on a $12,000 cash/surety bond.
The couple lives in Pleasantville, Iowa, which is about 25 miles southeast of Des Moines and has a population of less than 2,000.
The city’s motto is, “The name says it all.”
“With safe streets, quality schools and blossoming industry, the Pleasantville area provides for an excellent hub for all businesses and opportunities,” the city’s website brags.
