A dangerous killer obsessed with poison and death. He revelled in human suffering. Dr Swango’s murder spree spanned nearly two decades. Very Scary People s2e12: Dru Death II: You’re Next
‘They went looking for him and he was gone.’ ibid. comment
‘So now we’re going to have to look at what happened in Zimbabwe.’ ibid.
‘This doctor from America was up to no good.’ ibid.
‘As long as he was in a medical facility, he was going to kill people.’ ibid.
London 1974: A 48-year-old health food enthusiast was found dead after drinking excessive amounts of carrot juice. The coroner ruled his death that of lethal amounts of Vitamin A. The scientist consumed 70 million units, or 38 litres, of Vitamin A in just 10 days. The World’s Strangest Mysteries III, Amazon 2024
January 19th 2023: I was told that if I went back to Austria, they would immediately kill me. We will go after them. Kill List: Hunted by Putin’s Spies IKill List: Hunted by Putin’s Spies I, Grozev to father, Channel 4 2025
Christo Grozev says he was always aware his unorthodox investigation techniques would someday put him at risk. ibid. TV news
Christo Grozev has been contacted by a Russian scientist seeking to defect to the West. ibid.
A non-official top-secret programme on the development of new poisoning substances that went against the Chemical Weapons Convention. There we created all variations of Novochok. There are different forms of the poison. ibid. Grozev’s defector
Now I must get my family out of Russia because they may well capture them to get to me. ibid.
But somewhere near the top of the list is probably an oddly named investigative consortium known as Bellingcat. ibid. comment
The state [Russia] is gathering a huge amount of information about its citizens. ibid. Eliot Higgins, Bellingcat
Christo Grozev has been named in Russian media as a wanted criminal. ibid.
Reporter: So how many Russian agents have you uncovered?
Grozev: Names of people of relevance who I’ve focused on individually, about 300 … That I know are spies, we’re talking about 5,000. It’s one big puzzle. ibid.
Because of our investigations, the West holds someone in prison who has enormous value to Putin, a man called Vadim Krasikov. Krasikov: he’s a professional killer. ibid. Grozev
He [Krasikov] was finally caught in Berlin after shooting a man in broad daylight in a park. He refused to speak to police. ibid.
Putin has never been so vocal about defending a killer. ibid.
So for Krasikov alone, we could ask not for one but for many people. At the top of the list would be Alexei Navalny and Vladimir Kara-Murza. ibid.
Following the Navalny investigation, we had an abundance of residual data because the team of poisoners had travelled many, many, many hundreds of times. ibid.
There is a team of assassins whose only job is to physically eliminate the opponents of the Russian government. ibid. Mrs Kara-Murza
It’s like a fatwa of some sort. Grozev, TV interview
My dad has not answered his phone for two days. Grozev
They made the apartment a crime scene. ibid.
[Reporter to Christo Grozev]: Did you ever think you’d be investigating an assassination plot against yourself? Kill List: Hunted by Putin’s Spies II
Five British residents have been arrested suspected of surveilling Christo and his colleague, Roman Dobrokhotov. They await trial in London. ibid. TV news
Who paid these Bulgarians to spy on me? ibid. Grozev
While negotiations for a prisoner swap continue and his health deteriorates, Vladimir Kara-Murza is facing final sentencing. ibid. caption
12th August 2024: There is a prisoner swap underway right now between Russia, the United States and other countries. ibid. US TV news
In the end 16 people were released by the Kremlin. ibid. Grozev