A Florida woman was convicted of trying to murder her husband by setting the couple's bedroom on fire while he napped, in one of two suspected attempts to kill him, authorities said on Saturday.
Kimberly Boone, 46, who investigators believe tried twice over four months to kill Robert Boone for his life insurance money, was convicted of attempted murder and arson, a spokesman for the Seminole County Jail booking center said. She is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 5. A jury deliberated four hours on Friday before issuing the verdict.
Prosecutors said Kimberly Boone, a college financial aid manager from Winter Springs, Florida, set the couple's bedroom on fire in December 2008 while Robert Boone slept. She drugged her husband with the anti-anxiety medication Xanax, making it harder for him to escape the fire, they said.
Investigators found search records on her laptop for information on making someone violently ill, poisoning, making a house explode, overdosing on Xanax, and how fire marshals determine the cause of a fire, according to the arrest affidavit.
Kimberly Boone's lawyer argued in court that fire investigators never determined how the fire started, leaving reasonable doubt about what happened.
She was not arrested for the arson and attempted murder until four months later, in April 2009, when Robert Boone was shot in the chest while checking on his wife's concern about noises in the garage.
Robert Boone, who survived both incidents, told investigators Kimberly brought their Ruger .357 into the garage. Kimberly told investigators Robert had the handgun.
Kimberly Boone was acquitted of attempted murder in the shooting case at her first trial in 2010.