https://www.washingtonpost.com/worl...ory.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.017f3b6b9144
Germany probes 21 deaths linked to poisoned sandwich case
By Associated Press
June 27, 2018
BERLIN — Police in Germany are investigating the premature deaths of 21 people going back to the year 2000, following the arrest of a man suspected of trying to poison a colleague’s sandwich.
Bielefeld police said Wednesday the deaths, which occurred at the company the man worked for, included a “remarkably high number of heart attacks and cancers.”
A 56-year-old man was arrested in May after surveillance video showed him putting a suspicious powder on a colleague’s sandwich.
Police said the powder contained lead acetate “in amounts that would have been sufficient to cause serious organ damage.” A search of the suspect’s home uncovered further dangerous substances.
Two staff at the company in Schloss Holte-Stukenbrock, south of Bielefeld, are also believed to have fallen ill from heavy metal poisoning.
Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
https://tw.news.yahoo.com/19年21中毒死-嫌犯疑三明治下毒害同事-095207179.html
19年21中毒死 嫌犯疑三明治下毒害同事
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2019年3月10日 下午9:14
德國發生駭人聽聞的毒害事件，嫌犯疑似在三明治上，撒了醋酸鹽粉末，導致三名同事中毒，其中一人還成為植物人，更可怕的是，工廠過去19年來有21人中毒死亡，德國檢警將繼續追查，嫌犯是不是連續犯案。
圖／達志影像美聯社
被告走進法庭，還拿檔案夾遮臉，這場德國地方法院的判決，成為全球媒體焦點，只因為被告毒害同事的手法，實在太惡劣。
網路新聞記者：「檢方進入嫌犯家中搜查，在地下室發現簡陋實驗室，還找到藏有某些化學材料。法官形容這種物質，比二戰期間特務使用的還要危險。
這起毒殺同事案，發生在離柏林330公里遠的比勒費爾德，德國檢警調查發現，嫌犯疑似在同事的三明治上，撒了疑似醋酸鹽的粉末。
結果造成三名同事中毒，一人全身癱瘓、另外兩人腎衰竭。
德國法院發言人：「(被害)同事中有一位成了植物人，這是最嚴重的情況，也是為什麼檢察官會指控，他蓄意殺人。」
更誇張的是，過去19年來，嫌犯身邊已經有21名同事中毒死亡，卻一直查不到原因，如果不是監視器拍到嫌犯下毒瞬間，德國警方恐怕還無法這麼快破案。
原告辯護律師：「法官的裁罰，是德國法律體系下能判最重的罪責。但是嫌犯做出這種事，卻只判終身監禁，還是太短了，有心理學家說，嫌犯是以觀察同事中毒反應為樂，但真正犯案動機，還要進一步釐清。」
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/...eavy-metal-poison-serial-killer-a8423136.html
German man suspected of killing 21 colleagues in poisoned sandwich plot, police say
Employee caught on video putting powder in lunchbox - prompting investigation into more than 20 deaths at company since 2000
- Jane Dalton @JournoJane
- Friday 29 June 2018 15:41
Click to follow
The Independent
The worker found powder on his sandwich ( Getty Images/iStockphoto )
A German worker was allegedly caught on camera poisoning a colleague’s lunch – prompting authorities to investigate the deaths of 21 other employees.
Police have arrested a 56-year-old man on suspicion of trying to kill his colleague at ARI Armaturen, which makes industrial components such as valves, in the town of Schloss Holte-Stukenbrock.
More than 20 employees have died before retirement since the turn of the millennium, many of them from heart attacks – which could potentially have been brought on by heavy metal poisoning.
Read more
The suspect had been seen on a security camera opening a colleague’s lunchbox and putting a substance on the sandwich inside, police said in a statement.
The colleague had noticed something smeared on his lunch and notified his managers, who in turn called police.
Video footage at the company in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia showed the suspect spreading a powdery substance on the food.
A small bottle of a similar substance was found in the suspect’s bag when he was arrested.
Tests by the regional criminal office indicated the substance on the bread was toxic lead acetate, a highly toxic and nearly tasteless substance, and there was enough of it to cause severe organ damage, authorities said.
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Fire brigade experts found mercury, lead and cadmium in the suspect’s apartment in Bielefeld.
Police said the man had “long tried to produce toxic substances, including heavy metal compounds” using substances in his home.
Authorities broadened the investigation after other cases of illness at the company in recent years emerged. Two employees are in a coma and another man is on dialysis.
Officials are also now re-examining all deaths connected to the metal fittings company since 2000 – in particular, 21 former employees who died before retirement.
Read more
“There were a strikingly high number of heart attacks and cancers among the death cases in the company,” police said.
Experts say heavy metal poisoning could have been the cause of the illnesses that led to the deaths.
The suspect’s motive was not clear because he refused to answer questions, officers said.
They plan to question family members and doctors who treated the employees affected, as well as reviewing medical records. A 15-member murder team is considering exhuming the bodies as part of the probe, Deutsche Welle reported.
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https://www.npr.org/2019/03/08/7016...oisoned-coworkers-sentenced-to-life-in-prison
German Man Who Poisoned Co-Workers Sentenced To Life In Prison
March 8, 20197:02 PM ET
Vanessa Romo
Klaus O, whose last name cannot be revealed due to privacy laws, worked for nearly four decades at a metal fitting company in Schloss Holte-Stukenbrock, Germany. He was caught on camera sprinkling poisonous heavy metals on his co-workers' food and drinks.
W. Meier/Getty Images
A German man who poisoned several co-workers for years, sprinkling toxic metals into their food and drinks, was convicted on charges of attempted murder and sentenced to life in prison on Thursday.
By most accounts Klaus O., whose last name cannot be revealed due to German privacy laws, generally kept to himself, often wearing headphones, during nearly four decades of working at the metal fittings company in Schloss Holte-Stukenbrock, Deutsche Welle reported.
His manager described him as "conspicuously inconspicuous," and one of the victims, who worked alongside the 57-year-old toolmaker for 30 years, said the man rarely spoke and had no friends.
"I had no problem with Klaus, and I accepted that he does not want any contact. There was never an argument," the victim said, explaining their relationship.
During the trial a lawyer told the court, "There were no conversations about private matters over a cup of coffee, but there weren't many quarrels either."
Despite O.'s attempts at keeping a low profile, police arrested him last May after a fellow employee found what officials later discovered was lead acetate — a highly toxic and nearly tasteless substance that could cause serious organ damage — on his lunch.
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The poisoner's colleague noticed the sandwich had been tainted with a white powder. He didn't make much of it at the time, thinking it was strange but not necessarily intentional. But he became suspicious that something nefarious was underfoot when the next day, he brought in another sandwich and that too was laced with the same substance. The would-be victim took his suspicions to company management, which then installed a hidden camera in the break room.
The resulting footage was shocking: O. calmly and meticulously pulling food out of his colleagues' bags, dusting them with powder, then carefully repacking the items and returning them to where he'd found them.
Although the entire episode looked bizarre, his colleagues still did not suspect that O. was actively poisoning them, observing as they ingested highly toxic chemicals and began to fall victim to various illnesses. But in a search of his home police discovered a makeshift laboratory where they found a number of heavy metals, including lead acetate, cadmium, lead and mercury.
Ultimately, two of his colleagues suffered serious kidney damage. A third has brain damage and is currently in a vegetative state, unlikely to recover.
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2 Russian Agents Carried Out Skripal Poison Attack, U.K. Says; Arrest Warrants Issued
The discovery of O.'s poison lab led police to suspect he may also be responsible for a string of 21 deaths of former employees at the same company. However, officials have not determined whether any of those individuals were poisoned.
Neither investigators nor victims have any idea what prompted O. to target them. A psychologist who spoke with O. testified that he approached the poisonings as a researcher, interested in observing the effects of the toxins on his co-workers. He "seemed to me like a scientist who was testing substances on a guinea pig," he said.
O. offered no explanation. From the day he was arrested through the trial, he said nothing about his motivation.
The only public statement he issued came at the end of the trial: "I fully endorse the remarks of my defense attorneys," he said.
The life sentence is unusual in Germany for an attempted murder case, lawyers said on Thursday.
https://edition.cnn.com/2019/03/08/europe/germany-poison-sandwiches-scli-intl/
Man who poisoned colleagues' sandwiches jailed for life
By Jack Guy, CNN
Updated 1828 GMT (0228 HKT) March 8, 2019
(CNN)A court in Germany has sentenced a 57-year-old man to life imprisonment for poisoning his colleagues' sandwiches.
The man, identified under local law as Klaus O, added dangerous heavy metals to food items at the factory where he worked in the town of Schloss Holte-Stukenbrock over several years, according to CNN affiliate RTL.
The court in Bielefeld, North Rhine-Westphalia, found him guilty of attempted murder Thursday and imposed the maximum custodial sentence.
The judge said the crimes were as serious as murder, according to German news agency DPA.
Two victims have been left with serious kidney damage and a third is now in a vegetative state after falling into a coma, RTL reported.
German police investigate 21 deaths linked to poisoned sandwiches
Klaus O refused to speak during his trial and the motive for his actions is still unclear.
However, a mental health expert for the prison service told the court that the defendant wanted to see how the poison would affect his colleagues, like a scientist performing tests on a rabbit, according to RTL.
In May 2018, a security camera captured Klaus O opening a co-worker's lunchbox and putting a substance on the sandwich inside, the police said in a statement in June last year.
A small bottle of a "powdery substance" was found in the suspect's bag after he was taken into custody, police said.
The owner of the sandwich had raised the alarm earlier, after discovering an unknown substance smeared on his lunch. He informed his company's management, which in turn notified police.
Testing by the regional criminal office of North Rhine-Westphalia indicated the substance on the bread was toxic lead acetate, and there was enough to cause severe organ damage, authorities said.
Authorities broadened the investigation after two other cases of illness at the company in recent years were discovered.
Klaus O was brought before a judge on May 17, who issued an arrest warrant for attempted murder.
Fire brigade specialists found mercury, lead and cadmium in the suspect's apartment in Bielefeld. Police said the man "has long tried to produce toxic substances, including heavy metal compounds," based on substances found in his home.
CNN's Nadine Schmidt contributed to this report.
- https://www.cbsnews.com/news/poison...-colleagues-sentenced-life-prison-german-man/
Man who poisoned co-workers' sandwiches gets life in prison
March 8, 2019 / 12:59 PM / CBS/AP
A German man has been sentenced to life in prison for poisoning his co-workers' sandwiches with mercury and other substances over several years, leaving one in a coma and two others with serious kidney damage.
A judge at the regional court in Bielefeld, about 205 miles west of Berlin, found the 57-year-old defendant guilty Thursday of attempted murder and gave him the maximum possible sentence.
The man, identified only as Klaus O. in line with German privacy rules, was arrested in May after surveillance video showed him putting a suspicious powder on a colleague's sandwich at a business in the town of Schloss Holte-Stukenbrock. Police said the powder contained lead acetate "in amounts that would have been sufficient to cause serious organ damage."
A 57-year old man found guilty of poisoning his co-workers' sandwiches with mercury, lead acetate and other chemicals over several years hides his face during a court appearance in Bielefeld, Germany, Thursday. Friso Gentsch / AP
Authorities initially were probing if he was linked to the premature deaths of 21 people going back to the year 2000, but It has still not been proven that any of the dead individuals were poisoned, the German news agency DPA reported.
When authorities searched his home, they found a primitive chemistry laboratory in the basement and a substance that Judge Georg Zimmermann described as "more dangerous than all combat agents used in World War II."
O. refused to speak during his trial, and his motives remain unclear. Prosecutors believe he wanted to see his colleagues' physical decline.
Two of them, a 27-year-old and the other age 67, suffered chronic kidney damage from poisoning with lead and cadmium. Both men face a heightened risk of cancer.- A 23-year-old trainee fell into a coma after ingesting mercury and has permanent brain damage.
German news agency Deutsche Presse-Agentur (DPA) quoted the judge saying the court considered the crimes to be as serious as homicide. Zimmermann ordered that O. should remain in prison after completing the life sentence — which in Germany typically means serving 15 years — because he remains a danger to the public.
The defendant's lawyers plan to appeal.
