NATION IN BRIEF : WASHINGTON STATE : Verdict in Sudafed Tampering Case

A man was convicted of drug tampering in the 1991 deaths of two people and the near-fatal poisoning of his wife. Joseph E. Meling was found guilty of putting cyanide-filled capsules into packages of Sudafed 12-hour decongestant in an attempt to kill his wife for $700,000 in life insurance, and of putting the capsules in five other packages to make it appear she was the victim of a random killer. After three days of deliberations, jurors in Seattle convicted Meling of two counts of product tampering causing death, which carries a maximum penalty of life in prison. He was convicted of four other counts of product tampering, two of perjury and three of insurance fraud.