Woman Poisons Boyfriend For Years With Visine, Admits She ‘Wanted Attention’

Last week, a woman admitted to a long-term poisoning plot during which she adulterated her boyfriend’s food with the popular, over-the-counter eye redness remedy Visine — intending, she claims, not to kill him, but merely to get his attention.

The Visine poisoner, 33-year-old Vickie Jo Mills of Ayr Township, Pennsylvania, faces life in jail for the acts she admits to committing over a period of several years.

After her Thursday arrest, Mills was charged with 10 counts of aggravated assault, 10 counts of simple assault, and 10 counts of reckless endangerment for the continued acts committed upon boyfriend of several years and father of her child, Thurman Edgar Nesbitt III.

Overall, Mills admitted to adding Visine drops to Nesbitt’s beverages 10 to 12 times in the past few years, according to an affidavit of probable cause filed last week in the jurisdiction. The affidavit in part explains:

“She related she had been putting Visine eyedrops in Nesbitt’s water since 2009. She never meant to kill him, only wanted him to pay more attention to her.”

According to a local news source, evidence on the Visine poisoning was obtained by police after a doctor treating Nesbitt became suspicious about the man’s illness of nebulous cause. The site says:

“Police were alerted to Nesbitt’s illnesses on July 17 when his doctor, Dr. Harry Johnston, told troopers he had been treating Nesbitt for various symptoms including nausea and vomiting, blood pressure fluctuation and breathing difficulties for years. He told police he suspected someone was putting Visine in his water… Nesbitt was brought to the police barracks and agreed to have blood drawn to test for Tetrahydrozoline, a decongestant used to reduce redness in the eyes.”

Mills is currently free on $75,000 bail awaiting trial in the Visine poisoning case.