Radio Personality Charged With Poisoning Wife

WALTHAM, Mass. -- A Missouri radio talk-show host is accused of poisoning his wife.

James Keown, 31, allegedly killed his wife last year when the couple was living in Waltham, reported Boston TV station WCVB.

It has taken investigators more than a year to gather enough information to go to a grand jury, but last week, that panel came back with an indictment charging Keown with murder. The indictment said he systematically poisoned his wife with a combination of Gatorade and antifreeze.

The Keowns came to Massachusetts in January 2004. They lived in a duplex in Waltham.

In the summer of 2004, Julie Keown began to experience medical problems. She was admitted to Newton-Wellesley Hospital in August 2004. When she felt better, she was sent home, only to return to the hospital less than two weeks later.

"On Sept. 4 of 2004, at 9:17 in the evening, Julie Keown was admitted to the emergency room with severe symptoms she had exhibited before. In fact, shortly after her admission, she slipped into a coma from which she never recovered," Middlesex District Attorney Martha Coakley said.

Julie Keown died on Sept. 8, 2004, from what doctors said was a lethal dose of ethylene glycol -- an ingredient in antifreeze.

"The medical examiner believed that lethal dose had to have been ingested no more than eight to 10 hours before her admission to the hospital," Coakley said.

Investigators said Julie Keown died of systematic poisoning by her husband.

"We are aware that there was a life insurance policy on her for $250,000," Coakley said.

Coakley said James Keown never collected on the policy because the cause of death was not determined.

He was arrested Monday at the Jefferson City, Mo., radio station where he now works. He said he won't fight efforts to return him to Massachusetts.