Death in Small Doses is a 1995 American true crime television film directed by Sondra Locke and written by Scott Swanton. It was produced by Robert Greenwald Productions and stars Richard Thomas, Tess Harper, Glynnis O'Connor and Shawn Elliot. The film is a dramatization of the 1991 death of wealthy Dallas resident Nancy Lyon (played by O'Connor) by arsenic poisoning, a crime for which her husband Richard Lyon (Thomas) was the police's main suspect.
Locke was drawn to Swanton's script due to its ambiguity concerning Richard's guilt, which she thought would keep the audience guessing. Thomas similarly liked that the film does not give a definitive resolution to the crime unlike most other crime dramas. Marking her television directorial debut, Locke found the tight schedule to be a challenge and noted that the nature of the true crime genre limited the dramatic scope of the story. The film was shot on location in Charlotte and Monroe, North Carolina, in early 1993.
After having its release date delayed for a year, Death in Small Doses premiered on ABC on January 16, 1995, to mixed reviews. Critics who found the film engaging mostly attributed its success to Locke's direction and Thomas' performance. Others criticized the underdeveloped and unsympathetic characters, while the ambiguous resolution drew mixed reactions. The film received a Nielsen rating of 11.0, making it the 40th-highest-rated prime time broadcast for its respective week.
Plot
On January 9, 1991, in Dallas, Texas, Nancy Lyon is rushed to the hospital where she eventually dies from arsenic poisoning. Detective Ortega and A.D.A. Sims investigate the case. The pair question Nancy's wealthy family, the Dillards, who tell them that Nancy and her husband, Richard Lyon, had recently gotten back together after Richard previously left to be with his mistress. According to the Dillards, Nancy had suspected that Richard was slowly poisoning her, but had been too embarrassed to get the police involved. Nancy's brother Bill is adamant that Richard killed Nancy so as to inherit her fortune. Ortega and Sims question the Lyons' nanny, Ellen, who describes Richard as a loving father to the couple's two children. Flashbacks reveal that while both Nancy and Richard were architects, Nancy's far more successful career often kept her away from her family and put a strain on their marriage. The couple also often argued over Nancy's family, who looked down on Richard.
The police discover that Richard had recently purchased arsenic, which he says was for a fire ant infestation in the house. Richard suggests his lawyer, Guthrie, look into the possibility that Nancy may have committed suicide. Richard recounts how Nancy was full of life when they first met in college. He insists they were happily married until one particular family trip to Arizona, in which Nancy visited Bill who was in a treatment center for his drug and alcohol problems. After that trip, Nancy began isolating herself, quit her job and started seeing a therapist. Richard says it was at this time that he began an affair and filed for divorce, although he later returned to Nancy for the sake of their children. Meanwhile, the police receive anonymous letters claiming that Bill is responsible for poisoning Nancy. As they are unable to identify the sender, Richard remains the police's prime suspect.
After a grand jury indicts Richard, he is arrested and put on trial for Nancy's murder. During the trial, Guthrie accuses the police of overlooking Bill as a suspect. It comes to light from Nancy's therapy sessions that Bill and Nancy had an incestuous relationship when they were children. Guthrie also presents handwritten notes that were found among Nancy's belongings, in which she writes about how grateful she is to Richard for saving her from Bill, and shares her fears that Bill might have sexual desires towards her daughters. Bill insists that he and Nancy were on good terms before her death, and that their past incest was the result of a lonely childhood. To prove his innocence, Bill agrees to take a polygraph test, the result of which is inconclusive.