Alleged Poisoning of His 5 Children Jails Veterinarian

A recently divorced veterinarian was ordered held on $1-million bond Monday after police said he tried to poison his five children with xylazine, an animal anesthetic that can be fatal to humans.

Stanley H. Zukowski allegedly told his ex-wife “that if he could not have the children, he would kill them and himself,” a police affidavit said. Zukowski, 42, of Mercerville, N.J., was booked Sunday on five counts of attempted murder, authorities said.

Police say Zukowski apparently gave the children--an 11-year-old girl, and two sets of twins, ages 9 and 5--a drink laced with the animal anesthetic.

Cpl. Kevin Cavell, a police spokesman, said Zukowski was arrested at the Baton Rouge Metro Airport 45 minutes before he was scheduled to fly out.

The children, who were listed in stable condition at a hospital, live in Baton Rouge with their mother, Mary Zukowski.

She told police she had allowed her ex-husband to spend the weekend with the children. She noticed something wrong when she picked them up Sunday afternoon, police said.

“They were groggy and that’s what alerted her,” Cavell said.

She confronted Zukowski, who told her he had given them xylazine, the affidavit said.