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Attacks by poisoning are possibly even more common in Russia than assassinations by gunfire. Most famously, Alexander Litvinenko, a secret-police whistleblower, was killed by polonium in London, in 2006. Last week, British newspapers reported that a Russian businessman who dropped dead while jogging in a London suburb in 2012 had been killed by a rare plant poison. He had been a key witness in a money-laundering case that had originally been exposed by the Moscow accountant Sergei Magnitsky, who was tortured to death in 2009 in a Russian jail. Masha Gessen
I mean, I have the feeling that something in my mind is poisoning everything else. Vladimir Nabokov
Hide not thy poison with such sugared words. William Shakespeare, The First Part of the Contention II Henry VI III ii 45, King Henry to Suffolk et al
Do it not with poison. Strangle her in her bed, even the bed she hath contaminated. William Shakespeare, Othello IV i 202-203, Iago
Graham Young was a man with a passion for poison. But far from experimenting in laboratories he carried out his deadly trial on friends, family and work colleagues. Fred Dinenage, Murder Casebook: The Teacup Poisoner, CI 2011
His wife Molly [mother-in-law] writhing in agony ... It was Graham. He was motionless as if he was watching an experiment ... Graham Young had claimed his first life and had got away with it. ibid.
At just fourteen he was sentenced to serve fifteen years imprisonment. ibid.
Less than a year after leaving Broadmoor Graham Young was rearrested. ibid.
He saw his existence as one big experiment. ibid.
It would have been interesting to have talked to him [Graham Young], to have met him ... It would have been madness because one would have had a cup of tea. Anthony Holden, author The Young Poisoner’s Handbook
With the help of library books, Graham had already gained the expertise of a chemistry post-graduate. Yet his do-it-yourself chemistry experiments seemed to be a touch more extreme than you might expect even from the most inquisitive schoolboy. He had graduated from nail varnish remover to inhaling from a bottle of ether to get high. He carried a bottle of acid around with him which once burnt a hole in his school blazer. On other occasions he would extract gunpowder from fireworks to make small bombs. He blew up his neighbour’s wall and a nearby hut, but managed to escape blame for the incidents.
Although Fred Young had never been particularly close to his son, even he couldn’t entertain the idea that his own flesh and blood could be deliberately poisoning the family.
If he’d known how his wife’s symptoms would suddenly worsen a few months later, he might have had second thoughts. Crime Library online article
One of history’s most disturbed killers … An unlikely series of crimes carried out over forty years ago … The onset of the mystery illness had coincided with the arrival of a new [factory] storeroom assistant: Graham Young. Born to Kill: Class of Evil s1e5, Really 2018
He started sourcing chemicals and toxins to satisfy a morbid curiosity … Graham Young kept poison close to him at all times. ibid.
Having persuaded his father to cremate his step-mother, Young would only be tried for poisoning his other family members and schoolfriend Chris Williams. ibid.
Throughout the summer of ’71 he slipped poison into his colleagues’ tea. ibid.
The extraordinary events you are about to see were inspired by the true story of Graham Young. The Young Poisoner’s Handbook 1995 starring Hugh O'Conor & Tobias Arnold & Ruth Sheen & Roger Lloyd-Pack & Norman Caro & Charlotte Coleman et al, director Benjamin Ross, caption
I was very young when I realised I had a gift for chemistry. ibid. opening remarks
The Thallium had been a greater success than I could have hoped. ibid.
I was convicted of murder and attempted murder. And after my trial, which was a swift affair, the judge sent me for medical tests. ibid.
I’m dying. I’ve been poisoned with some Chinese synthetic shit. Crank 2006 starring Jason Statham & Amy Smart & Jose Pablo Cantillo & Efren Ramirez & Dwight Toakam & Carlos Sanz & Reno Wilson et al, directors Mark Neveldine & Brian Taylor, Chev to Quack
Do you realize what you’re saying? You’re telling me that I’m dead. DOA 1950 starring Edmond O’Brien & Pamela Britton & Luther Adler & Lynn Baggett & William Ching & Beverly Garland & Virginia Lee & Neville Brand & Laurette Luez & Jess Kirkpatrick & Cay Forester et al, director Rudolph Mate
I can breathe and I can move, but I’m not alive because I took that poison, and nothing can save me. ibid.
Rommel decided to spare his family and take the poison. Hitler’s Generals: Rommel: The Hero, BBC 1996
Poison is carried by all kinds of animals. David Attenborough, The Trials of Life IV: Hunting and Escaping, BBC 1990
Black and yellow is a colour code for poison that is widely understood. ibid.
There are at least twenty different kinds of poison frogs in central or south America. David Attenborough, Life on Earth (revised series), Fish, Birds & Reptiles
Bracken: when they are young the leaves are packed with cyanide. David Attenborough, The Private Life of Plants: Growing, BBC 1995
You remember the fun we had when you poisoned me? House on Haunted Hill 1959 starring Vincent Price & Carolyn Craig & Elisha Cook & Carol Ohmart & Alan Marshal & Julie Mitchum & Richard Long et al, director William Castle
The coward’s weapon – poison. Phineas Fletcher
I have good reason for believing that my brother, Samuel H Smith, died of poison at Nauvoo, administered by order of Brigham Young and Willard Richards, only a few weeks subsequent to the unlawful murder of my other brothers, Joseph and Hiram Smith, while incarcerated in Carthage jail.
Several other persons who were presumed to stand between Brigham Young and the accomplishment of his ambitions and wicked designs, mysteriously disappeared from Nauvoo about the same time, and have never been heard from since. William Smith, letter to the New York Tribune 28th May 1857
Samuel Smith ... seemed a reasonable choice to many Saints. In fact, he nearly took control of the Church before the Twelve had returned, much to the irritation of Willard Richards, who wanted no leader to be name until all the Apostles were present.
Richards may have gone so far as to have Samuel murdered to prevent any succession. Samuel’s wife believed this to be the case, naming as her husband’s murderer the Chief of Police – Hosea Stout, a Danite widely known for having a violent streak and a cold-hearted disposition.
Everyone knew he was more than capable of homicide. He had already been, and would continue to be, connected with several murders and assaults involving apostates and Church critics ...
In the case of Samuel Smith, Stout had acted as Samuel’s care-giver when he fell ill, and in that capacity had given Samuel ‘white powder’ medicine daily until his death. Samuel’s wife, daughter, and brother ... all believed the powder to be poison. Richard Abanes, One Nation Under Gods: A History of the Mormon Church
Q) Have you had any knowledge of cases of poisoning in Nauvoo, ordered by the authorities?
A) I know that several men, six or seven, died under very suspicious circumstances. Among them were two secretaries of the prophet, Mulholland and Blaskel Thompson. I saw Mulholland die and the symptoms looked very suspicious to me. Dr Foster, who was a very good physician, believed firmly that those six or seven men had been poisoned, and told me so repeatedly. Dr William Law, interview Dr Wyl