Dr Hal Hill accused of poisoning wife

A prominent Tennessee doctor is accused poisoning his wife for about five months.

Liesa Hill, of Lookout Mountain, said since March of 2011 she had not been feeling well and doctors, including her husband, could not figure out what was wrong with her.   She said her symptoms got worse each morning after drinking the coffee her husband brought to her.

Mrs. Hill said she never suspected her husband of wanting to harm her until one morning when she saw him putting something into her coffee.

A suspicious Hill brought the coffee to police, who tested it and found Barium, which is a product that is found in rat poisoning.

In court documents filed by Liesa Hill, the mother-of-two said she had been feeling very lethargic and suffering from server stomach pain for months.

She said one morning she secretly observed her husband putting something in her coffee, which she later found out from police was rat poisoning.

Mrs. Hill said after she stopped drinking the coffee her condition mysteriously improved.

Liesa Hill said she went to her husband, who is a respected expert in infectious diseases in Chattanooga and works at Memorial Hospital in Hutcheson, for treatment when she was severely ill, however, the legal documents did not say whether he actually treated her.

She has filed an emergency order of petition against her husband of 14 years and has won temporary custody of their two children, ages 12 and 11.

Charges have not yet been filed against the 52 year old doctor, who has no record of disciplinary action against him.