Man accused of conspiring to kill wife asks for review of $50,000 bond.
RICHMOND, Ind. — The Richmond man accused of conspiring to kill his wife has asked for a review of his $50,000 bond.
Alfred Ruf, 69, was jailed with that bond Wednsday after appearing at an initial hearing in Circuit Court. Ruf is charged with Level 2 felony conspiracy to commit murder.
During the initial hearing, Circuit Court Judge April Drake reduced Ruf’s bond from $75,000 to $50,000 after reviewing his pretrial release assessment filed by the state. She also scheduled his trial for April 5, according to case records.
On Thursday, his attorney, John L. Tompkins, filed a motion for bond review. In the motion, Thompkins wrote that bond should protect the community, including the victim, and ensure that the person charged appears in court when required.
The motion says that Ruf’s health is so poor that if he lives apart from his wife, Lisa Bishop, and has his movements monitored by GPS there is practically no way he could harm Bishop. It also says he is not a flight risk and that Ruf promises to update the court with his address and comply with any bond conditions.
The motion had not yet been acted upon or scheduled for a hearing.
Ruf was originally arrested Jan. 3; however, he was freed from jail on his own recognizance Jan. 5 when charges were not filed and probable cause established within 48 hours of the arrest.
Bishop called authorities after Ruf confessed to her that he had been drugging her drinks with a substance provided him by Bishop’s daughter, according to an affidavit of probable cause. He said he felt bad about what he was doing.
Ruf told investigators he had drugged drinks a dozen times and taken his wife to the hospital six times when she became ill after being drugged, the affidavit said. He said Bishop’s daughter and another woman would call him to drug the drinks, then they would come to his residence and give Bishop more of the substance to make her sleep.
Ruf would have sex — for which he paid — with one of the women while the other stole Bishop’s possessions, according to the affidavit.
He acknowledged that he knew the substance put in Bishop’s drinks would eventually kill her and that the daughter had mentioned killing her mother, the affidavit said.
A news release about the case said the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office was searching for the two women as part of the ongoing investigation.
The standard sentence for a Level 2 felony conviction is 17½ years with a sentencing range of 10 to 30 years.
