Husband arrested in murder of Ole Miss employee

Oxford resident Rupert Coates was arrested yesterday in connection with the death of his wife, Diane.

Yoknapatawpha County Sheriff's representatives say Rupert Coates drugged his wife with lethal doses of coumadin, building up toxins in her system until she collapsed during the Friday evening opening reception of the Barksdale Literature Conference, which was hosted by the University of Mississippi.

Diane Coates was prescribed coumadin to help combat the effects of a mild stroke in December of 2007, but had to stop taking the medication after several weeks because of the side effects, said Yoknapatawpha County Sheriff's Department Public Information Officer Elizabeth Johnson. Coates' husband, however, allegedly kept the tablets and also renewed the prescription in order to build up a supply of the drug, Johnson said.

Coates allegedly began giving his wife high doses of ground up coumadin dissolved in her food and drink about a week before her collapse, according to Johnson.

Johnson said forensic tests revealed high levels of coumadin in a bottle of Campari, an alcoholic beverage, found in the Coates residence, as well as residue on other evidence found at the Coates' home.

Marital problems were the likely motive for the crime, said Johnson, citing interviews with several witnesses who said Diane Coates was openly involved in an extra-marital affair.

"She and Rupert were practically estranged," said Charlotte Leggett, Diane Coates' co-worker in the Division of Outreach & Continuing Education at the University of Mississippi. "It was common knowledge for pretty much everyone. She didn't exactly keep it a secret."

Rupert Coates has denied the murder charge and is awaiting arraignment July 8 to enter a plea of "not guilty," according to his attorney, Stuart Hellerton.

The Sheriff's Department said their investigation revealed that Coates had been using her position as assistant to the conference organizer to extort money from guest speakers and author panelists, promising them better slots on the conference schedule and additional book signing opportunities in exchange for payment of anywhere from $1,000 to $2,500.

"Clearly, there was an abuse of power going on," said Johnson.

Johnson declined to comment on how Coates had been using the extortion monies or on the current whereabouts of those funds.