An Iowa woman has been sentenced after she was found guilty of trying to cause a pregnant woman to suffer a miscarriage by giving her a lasagna laced with oxycodone.
Amber Dena Snow pleaded guilty on Tuesday, May 26, to several charges, including one count of attempted nonconsensual termination of a pregnancy, one count of child endangerment, intent to deliver a controlled substance and four counts of conspiracy to commit a non-forcible felony.
After she entered her plea, Snow, 36, was sentenced to serve 10 years in state prison.
Snow pleaded guilty in connection to an incident that took place in late December 2025, according to Law & Crime. The Winneshiek County Sheriff’s Office said that she and a coconspirator gave a family a pan of lasagna, which was laced with oxycodone.
Deputies announced in January they were investigating “a family-size pan of lasagna that had allegedly been laced with a controlled substance.” Several agencies then got involved and they executed a handful of warrants in connection with the probe, according to the sheriff’s office.
Investigators eventually determined that Snow and her accomplice “laced the lasagna” with the intention to have the pregnant woman suffer a miscarriage after she ate the meal.
“During the investigation, it was determined that delivery of the tainted lasagna was intended to cause a miscarriage to a pregnancy of a woman in the family that received the lasagna,” the sheriff’s office said.
Law enforcement eventually identified Matthew Uthoff as Snow’s accomplice, and they were detained and brought in for questioning. They did not have to speak to authorities for long before they revealed their plan, per the outlet.
The sheriff’s office used “electronic communications and search history on the defendants’ accounts and phones from before and after the lasagna was prepared and delivered” as key evidence while building the case.
Additionally, authorities said that the pregnant victim had “no knowledge” that the drug had been put in the lasagna and she did not consent to consuming the oxycodone-laced lasagna.
While it’s not currently known why Snow wanted the victim to suffer a miscarriage, it was revealed that she shared custody of her child with members of the intended victim’s family, according to the Des Moines Register.
Snow’s child was reportedly present at the time the tainted lasagna was prepared, as well as was there when the food was delivered.
The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation Criminalistics Laboratory tested the lasagna and determined it had been laced with oxycodone.
Using oxycodone while pregnant carries significant risks to both the mother and baby, including the potential of a miscarriage, premature birth, poor fetal growth and severe placental disruption, according to the National Institute of Health.
Uthoff, who is reportedly Snow’s husband, was arrested on the same set of charges. Uthoff, 35, pleaded not guilty to the charges in April and he is awaiting his own trial.
