A Center Moriches man pleaded guilty in Suffolk County Court Friday to poisoning his estranged wife with cyanide in 2008, the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office said.

David A. Steeves

David A. Steeves, 45, pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree murder during jury selection for his upcoming trial in the death of 41-year-old Maureen Steeves, who died at Brookhaven Memorial Hospital 10 days after ingesting coffee laced with potassium cyanide. 

State Supreme Court Justice Robert W. Doyle said he will sentence David Steeves to 19 years to life in state prison on July 19. His defense attorney, Craig McElwee, said his client purchased the poison to kill himself, but then “chickened out” and gave it to his wife instead.

Doyle added that his client agreed to enter the guilty plea following prosecutors’ assurances that his two teenage sons would not be in court Friday nor at his sentencing. 

With Associated Press.