Diane Fleming
Encyclopedia
Diane Fleming is an American prisoner currently serving a 30-year sentence at the Fluvanna Correctional Center for Women
in Troy, Virginia
. She is prisoner #311655. She was convicted in February 2002 for poisoning her third husband Chuck by spiking his Gatorade
with methanol
. Many people believe that Diane's conviction was a miscarriage of justice
and have filed petitions to have her convictions for murder
and adulteration overturned.
. When she was 4, she moved to Fredericktown, Missouri
and was raised on a farm. She became pregnant as a young woman by her first husband and gave birth to a son. A second marriage produced another son.
In 1989, she placed a personal advertisement in a Virginia
newspaper, which Chuck Fleming responded to. The two married and Diane gave birth to a daughter in 1993. Chuck was a maintenance mechanic at Philip Morris USA
in Richmond, Virginia
, while Diane was a soccer mom.
, but returned home after falling violently ill. He was admitted to the Chippenham Medical Center, but soon after his arrival his condition suddenly and rapidly worsened. He slipped into a coma and was pronounced deceased the next day. After his autopsy
revealed that Chuck's cause of death was acute methanol poisoning, a criminal investigation begun, and ultimately, his wife Diane was charged in the crime in July 2001.
, a muscle building agent, into many bottles of Gatorade. She also claimed to have no idea how her husband could have died from methanol poisoning. However one piece of evidence seemed to contradict Diane's story. Before trial, a friend of Diane's had come forward with a computer hard drive Diane had given to her, and it showed a web search for methanol poisoning time-stamped one month before Chuck's death. Diane claims she was trying to protect her son by hiding the hard drive. Jurors did not believe Diane, and she was found guilty of murder and adulteration of a substance. She was sentenced to concurrent terms of 30 and 20 years.
and for the prosecution's withholding of evidence. All of Diane's direct appeals have been exhausted, and her Habeas petitions have been denied, even though tests show that the Gatorade did not contain methanol.
Diane Fleming is currently working with the DC Innocence Project
, an organization that helps wrongly convicted criminals to overturn their convictions. She is hopeful that her convictions will be overturned. There is a lot of evidence that proves she is not guilty of killing her husband Chuck. For example, a multitude of toxicology testing of Chuck Fleming's tissue samples revealed no evidence of methanol poisoning, and that Chuck rather died due to an overdose of aspartame
and creatine
. If all of Diane's effort fail, she is scheduled to be released from prison on April 3, 2028. She will be 71 years old.
Diane's case has been televised on WE tv
's Women Behind Bars in 2008 and on Oxygen Network's Snapped
in 2010.
Fluvanna Correctional Center for Women
Fluvanna Correctional Center for Women is a prison operated by the Virginia Department of Corrections. It is located in an unincorporated area of Fluvanna County, Virginia, near the town of Troy, about northwest of Richmond...
in Troy, Virginia
Troy, Virginia
Troy is an unincorporated community in Fluvanna County, Virginia, United States. It lies just east of U.S. Route 15, between Zion Crossroads to the north and the county seat of Palmyra to the south. Troy's existence was defined by the Virginia Air Line Railway, which operated from 1908 to 1975...
. She is prisoner #311655. She was convicted in February 2002 for poisoning her third husband Chuck by spiking his Gatorade
Gatorade
Gatorade is a brand of sports-themed food and beverage products, built around its signature product: a line of sports drinks. Gatorade is currently manufactured by PepsiCo, distributed in over 80 countries...
with methanol
Methanol
Methanol, also known as methyl alcohol, wood alcohol, wood naphtha or wood spirits, is a chemical with the formula CH3OH . It is the simplest alcohol, and is a light, volatile, colorless, flammable liquid with a distinctive odor very similar to, but slightly sweeter than, ethanol...
. Many people believe that Diane's conviction was a miscarriage of justice
Miscarriage of justice
A miscarriage of justice primarily is the conviction and punishment of a person for a crime they did not commit. The term can also apply to errors in the other direction—"errors of impunity", and to civil cases. Most criminal justice systems have some means to overturn, or "quash", a wrongful...
and have filed petitions to have her convictions for murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
and adulteration overturned.
Early life
Diane Fleming was born in 1957 in ColoradoColorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
. When she was 4, she moved to Fredericktown, Missouri
Fredericktown, Missouri
Fredericktown is a city in and the county seat of Madison County, Missouri, United States, in the northeastern foothills of the Ozark Mountains. The population was 3,928 at the 2000 census...
and was raised on a farm. She became pregnant as a young woman by her first husband and gave birth to a son. A second marriage produced another son.
In 1989, she placed a personal advertisement in a Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
newspaper, which Chuck Fleming responded to. The two married and Diane gave birth to a daughter in 1993. Chuck was a maintenance mechanic at Philip Morris USA
Philip Morris USA
Philip Morris USA is the United States tobacco division of Altria Group, Inc. Philip Morris USA brands include Marlboro, Virginia Slims, Benson and Hedges, Merit, Parliament, Alpine, Basic, Cambridge, Bucks, Dave's, Chesterfield, Collector's Choice, Commander, English Ovals, Lark, L&M, Players and...
in Richmond, Virginia
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
, while Diane was a soccer mom.
Death of Chuck Fleming
On June 12, 2000, Chuck Fleming, age 37, went to work at Philip Morris USAPhilip Morris USA
Philip Morris USA is the United States tobacco division of Altria Group, Inc. Philip Morris USA brands include Marlboro, Virginia Slims, Benson and Hedges, Merit, Parliament, Alpine, Basic, Cambridge, Bucks, Dave's, Chesterfield, Collector's Choice, Commander, English Ovals, Lark, L&M, Players and...
, but returned home after falling violently ill. He was admitted to the Chippenham Medical Center, but soon after his arrival his condition suddenly and rapidly worsened. He slipped into a coma and was pronounced deceased the next day. After his autopsy
Autopsy
An autopsy—also known as a post-mortem examination, necropsy , autopsia cadaverum, or obduction—is a highly specialized surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse to determine the cause and manner of death and to evaluate any disease or injury that may be present...
revealed that Chuck's cause of death was acute methanol poisoning, a criminal investigation begun, and ultimately, his wife Diane was charged in the crime in July 2001.
Trial
Diane's trial began in February 2002. She was charged with murder and adulteration of a substance, and could face up to life in prison. At the trial, Diane testified in her own defense, claiming that she and her husband had helped mix creatineCreatine
Creatine is a nitrogenous organic acid that occurs naturally in vertebrates and helps to supply energy to all cells in the body, primarily muscle. This is achieved by increasing the formation of Adenosine triphosphate...
, a muscle building agent, into many bottles of Gatorade. She also claimed to have no idea how her husband could have died from methanol poisoning. However one piece of evidence seemed to contradict Diane's story. Before trial, a friend of Diane's had come forward with a computer hard drive Diane had given to her, and it showed a web search for methanol poisoning time-stamped one month before Chuck's death. Diane claims she was trying to protect her son by hiding the hard drive. Jurors did not believe Diane, and she was found guilty of murder and adulteration of a substance. She was sentenced to concurrent terms of 30 and 20 years.
Aftermath
After being convicted, Diane filed appeals due to ineffective assistance of counselIneffective assistance of counsel
Ineffective assistance of counsel is an issue raised in legal malpractice suits and in appeals in criminal cases where a criminal defendant asserts that their criminal conviction occurred because their attorney failed to properly defend the case...
and for the prosecution's withholding of evidence. All of Diane's direct appeals have been exhausted, and her Habeas petitions have been denied, even though tests show that the Gatorade did not contain methanol.
Diane Fleming is currently working with the DC Innocence Project
Innocence Project
An Innocence Project is one of a number of non-profit legal organizations in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand dedicated to proving the innocence of wrongly convicted people through the use of DNA testing, and to reforming the criminal justice systems to...
, an organization that helps wrongly convicted criminals to overturn their convictions. She is hopeful that her convictions will be overturned. There is a lot of evidence that proves she is not guilty of killing her husband Chuck. For example, a multitude of toxicology testing of Chuck Fleming's tissue samples revealed no evidence of methanol poisoning, and that Chuck rather died due to an overdose of aspartame
Aspartame
Aspartame is an artificial, non-saccharide sweetener used as a sugar substitute in some foods and beverages. In the European Union, it is codified as E951. Aspartame is a methyl ester of the aspartic acid/phenylalanine dipeptide. It was first sold under the brand name NutraSweet; since 2009 it...
and creatine
Creatine
Creatine is a nitrogenous organic acid that occurs naturally in vertebrates and helps to supply energy to all cells in the body, primarily muscle. This is achieved by increasing the formation of Adenosine triphosphate...
. If all of Diane's effort fail, she is scheduled to be released from prison on April 3, 2028. She will be 71 years old.
Diane's case has been televised on WE tv
WE TV
We TV is the third TV channel from Malayalam Communications Ltd, in Kerala and based at Trivandrum. The other two channels of this company are Kairali TV and People TV. WE TV is mainly aimed at the youth and was officially launched on April 14, 2007. Mr...
's Women Behind Bars in 2008 and on Oxygen Network's Snapped
Snapped
Snapped is an American true crime television series that airs on the Oxygen Network. Snapped debuted on August 6, 2004 and is produced in conjunction with Jupiter Entertainment.-Synopsis:...
in 2010.