Friday, September 28, 2018

Nicotine: Poisoning People for Fun and Profit—Part 37


Everybody knows smoking tobacco is dangerous. It causes lung cancer, heart disease, stroke, and a myriad of other awful diseases.

The "Smoking Man" from the X-Files
But smoking tobacco kills slowly. If you wanted to kill somebody with cigarettes, a murderer would have to be patient to the point of pathology. 

However, smoking deaths aren’t caused by the nicotine in the tobacco. The body absorbs only about 1 mg of nicotine from smoking a cigarette (That’s a tenth or less of the nicotine actually contained in a cigarette.) It’s the other toxins in the cigarette smoke that do the smokers in, even though it’s nicotine that gets people addicted to the lethal things.

Full disclosure: I smoked for many years. I quit 30 years ago, with a bit of a slip in the early 2000's. But I still sometimes dream that I’m smoking. The last smoking dream I had was about a month ago. In the dream I was sneaking a cigarette outside in the dark and lit the filter end by mistake. It gave off a toxic stench and I stomped it out on the ground. I think that’s a good sign.

Nicotine is a Strong, Fast-Acting Poison


Nicotine rushes to the brain very fast and the body reacts immediately by secreting epinephrine—the same stuff the body naturally produces during times of fear, excitement, and stress.

This gives us a short but powerful adrenaline rush. Heart rate and blood pressure go up, along with the output of glucose. Respiratory rates skyrocket.


This means nicotine can kill in a matter of minutes. The lethal dose is 30-60 mg ( In comparison, it takes 70-200 mg of arsenic to kill.)

The International Program on Chemical Safety (IPCS) says: "Nicotine is one of the most toxic of all poisons and has a rapid onset of action. Apart from local caustic actions, the target organs are the peripheral and central nervous systems."

Nicotine is a plant alkaloid named for a 16th century Frenchman named Jean Nicot de Villemain. He acquired tobacco plants and seeds from the Portuguese colony in Brazil and promoted their use during the 1560s. He managed to get the tobacco plant, Nicotiana tabacum named after him.

Nicotine as a Murder Weapon.


The first documented occurrence of someone using nicotine as a weapon was the 1850 case of the Count and Countess de Bocarme of Belgium, who decided to murder her younger brother, Gustave Fougnies, when Gustave was about to inherit the family money and estate.

The Count was an amateur chemist who mysteriously amassed a large amount of tobacco in the summer of 1850. In November of that year, his young brother-in-law Gustave dropped dead after a dinner his sister had prepared. The couple announced the young man had suffered a fatal stroke.

But the servants were not convinced, especially since Gustave's face appeared to have been burned with a caustic substance.
Jen Servais Stas discovered a test for nicotine


Because of their barn had been full of those tobacco leaves, the police suspected that the couple might have poisoned Gustave with nicotine, but they had no test to prove it.

They knew that soaking tobacco and boiling down the extract could make a lethal poison, but they couldn't prove it. 

That's when Jean Servais Stas, a prominent Belgian chemist, decided to create a test for nicotine, known as the Stas-Otto method. 

Soon after, the Count and Countess were charged with murder.

More recently, in 2014, a man named Paul Curry was convicted in Orange County CA of murdering his wife Linda with nicotine—20 years before. It was such an unusual weapon that authorities took that long to build a case (and it would be another four years before he came to trial.)

The medical examiner found it suspicious that Linda, a nonsmoker, had high levels of nicotine in her blood. 

Then there was the half-million dollar life insurance policy Paul had received. 

But still, the police did not initially suspect foul play. 

However after careful examination of the medical evidence, Dr. Neal Benowitz of the University of San Francisco Medical School determined that Linda Curry, first disabled with sleep medication, died within 20 to 30 minutes after being poisoned with nicotine.

There was only one person with her in that time frame—her husband.


Nicotine Poisoning is a Growing Problem in the Age of Vaping


Nicotine poisoning has become much more common since the invention of the e-cigarette. The liquid nicotine in one vaping cartridge contains enough poison to kill a child. Two or three could be lethal for a large adult.

Vape Liquid, or E-Juice, comes in different strengths, depending on the manufacturer. It can be as high as 36 mg or even 42 mg. And you can buy refills in convenient eye-dropper bottles. In flavors like berry, cherry and Candy King. Yum.
It only takes about 60 mg. of nicotine to kill the average-sized person. That would mean smoking 40 cigarettes at once, chewing 15 pieces of nicotine gum, wearing 4-5 patches… or ingesting just 2 doses of e-liquid. 

Swallowing e-juice can be fatal. Even getting it on your skin is dangerous. This liquid is highly toxic, but unfortunately, it's not highly regulated.  


Many Users Don’t Know the Perils of E-Juice


Unfortunately, the candy-flavored vape juice is a magnet for teens and tweens, whose ability to make rational decisions may not have entirely matured.

In researching the hazards of nicotine poisoning from vaping, I found a number of forums where teens discussed their concerns about poisoning. 

 Some of their comments were hair-raising.

One young man was understandably worried because his vape pen had leaked and he’d swallowed some of the liquid. He wrote in the forum to ask for advice.


His charming fellow vapers called him a “pussy” and shamed him for worrying and told him not to call the poison hotline.

One vaper claimed he drank “e-juice” all the time with no ill effects. 

Another claimed to be immune to the caustic burns other humans get from the liquid. He bragged he’d felt nothing after a broken vape pen in his pocket leaked e-juice down his pants. He called the worried young man "a stupid hippy" for fearing the caustic poison. 

I wanted to jump in and tell the kid: If you listen to this troll, you'll burn off your face. Please be a "stupid hippy!"

Maybe the trolls were lying, or maybe they’d only had a drop or two of the liquid. (Although even a drop can burn most people’s skin.) 

 It’s true they would have to drink at least 10 ml of vape juice to actually kill themselves. They might not even die from that amount, but if they survived, their heart and arteries would be permanently damaged.

If they're not lying, the Dumb and Dumberer folks in that forum aren’t long for this world.  The government is trying to put the brakes on the marketing of this stuff to teens, but they’re fighting an uphill battle.


$10 for a Lethal Dose of Liquid Nicotine.


Not only is vape juice easy to get, but there are many websites that tell you how to make your own vaping concoctions.

They link to sites where can buy liquid nicotine for the DYI e-juice for only about $10 for 60mg, the lethal dose. Very handy for those villains planning a budget murder (although you might want to swing for 2 bottles just to make sure.)

The only obstacle to the perfect nicotine murder is the taste. Apparently it’s awful. This is why e-juice is so heavily flavored.
Murder on a budget? 


There are also the tell-tale caustic burns around the mouth you'd have to explain away. Maybe in a murder mystery, the fictional victim could be shown eating a very hot pizza—you know the kind that seems cool enough on the top, but has that hot cheese underneath that burns the roof of your mouth. Well, that's a stretch...

Signs of Nicotine Poisoning



Early symptoms (15 minutes to an hour.)



  • Feeling nauseated 
  • Excessive watering of the mouth 
  • Trouble breathing 
  • Racing heartbeat 
  • Skyrocketing blood pressure 
  • Throbbing headache 
  • Blanched skin 
  • Dizzy, off-balance, or confused 

Late-phase symptoms ( 1-4 hours later.)


Diarrhea
Shallow breathing
Slower heartbeat
Lower blood pressure
Lethargy
Feeling weak, slow reflexes, or unable to control muscles
Seizures 

When to Get Help for Nicotine Poisoning


In spite of what Dumb and Dumberer said in that forum, you want to call the American Association of Poison Control Center at 800-222-1222 right away if you suspect an overdose or when someone, especially a child or pet:
  • Swallows any type of tobacco or nicotine product 
  • Gets liquid nicotine in their eye 
  • Spills liquid nicotine on their skin 

And if the person who is poisoned can't wake up, has a hard time breathing, or has a seizure, call 911.


First Aid for Nicotine Poisoning


  • Don't try to make someone who's swallowed nicotine throw up or give them antacids to settle their stomach. 
  • Give them lots of water. 
  • Make sure their airway is clear. 
  • Rinse eyes splashed with nicotine well with a lot of warm water for at least 15 minutes. 
  • Where liquid nicotine has gotten onto skin, wash the area well with soap and water (either warm or cool) and rinse for at least 15 minutes.

 Did you know that nicotine was so readily available in lethal doses? Have you ever had nicotine poisoning? Were you ever addicted to the stupid stuff the way I was? 


Here's a list of all the poisons in this series


~

BOOK SPOTLIGHT

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Someone has shot aging bad-girl rocker Morgan Le Fay and threatens to finish the job. Is it fans of her legendary dead rock-god husband, Merlin? Or is the secret buried in her childhood hometown of Avalon, Maine?

Morgan's childhood best friend Dodie, the no-nonsense owner of a dilapidated diner, may be the only one who knows the dark secret that can save Morgan's life. And both women may find that love really is better the second time around. Think Beaches meets Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe.

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Also available iTunes, Kobo, Nook and Books 2 Read
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Friday, August 31, 2018

Googling Old Boyfriends


I don't have another poison episode this month, because I'm busy finishing up my latest Camilla Randall Mystery (#7) Googling Old Boyfriends. I'm sending it to my editor on Monday. 

 It's scheduled to come out in December. Paperback in January. (And there will be a fun staged reading in Morro Bay with actress Mara Purl in February.)

 And yes, there will be poisons involved.
~

 Here's a taste:
“Okay, ’fess up.” Mickie McCormack startled me as she plunked a copy of Liane Moriarty’s Truly, Madly, Guilty on my counter at the bookshop.
“If you’re that distracted by the Internet you’re either looking at porn or you’re Googling old boyfriends.”
Mickie’s brown eyes twinkled at me from behind Ralph Lauren tortoise shell frames.
I felt my cheeks heat up.
“Um, I’m guilty of the latter, I’m afraid. I’ve just run into an old boyfriend and he’s invited me to dinner, but…”
The bell on the door jingled.
There he was. Captain Maverick Jesus Zukowski of the L.A.P.D. Six foot, three inches of tall, dark, and the-one-who-got-away. 
~

No cover yet. I'm working on some ideas to give to the designer. I'm thinking of something like this:



Of course Buckingham will have to make an appearance.


As long as Oona Foster isn't there. Then he'll hide out until she's gone.


And here's Buckingham on the cover of his own book, which is only 99c right now on Amazon! 
SO MUCH FOR BUCKINGHAM: Camilla mystery #5

This comic novel—which takes its title from the most famous Shakespearean quote that Shakespeare never wrote—explores how easy it is to perpetrate a character assassination whether by a great playwright or a gang of online trolls.

It's a laugh-out-loud mashup of romantic comedy, crime fiction, and satire: Dorothy Parker meets Dorothy L. Sayers. Perennially down-and-out socialite Camilla Randall--a.k.a. "The Manners Doctor"--is a magnet for murder, mayhem and Mr. Wrong, but she always solves the mystery in her quirky, but oh-so-polite way. Usually with more than a little help from her gay best friend, Plantagenet Smith.

In this hilarious episode she makes the mistake of responding to an online review of one of her etiquette guides and sets off a chain of events that leads to arson, attempted rape and murder. 

Sample reviews:
"Delicious wit, wonderful eccentric characters, and a beguiling plot. Camilla Randall is a delight!"...Melodie Campbell, "Canada's Queen of Comedy."

"Both a comedic romance and a crime suspense thriller, it presents the 'Perils of Pauline' adventures of a modern author, Camilla, whose mad-cap follies are hugely entertaining. But the novel has a serious undertone of social comment. Even the craziest of its zanies have their counterparts in the real world and the author faithfully depicts their grim, and often deadly, sub-cultures behind a veneer of knockabout wit. Highly recommended for anyone who enjoys romance, and crime suspense, with a lethally satiric edge." Dr. John Yeoman.

"Anne Allen's ability to weave throughout her stories a current social commentary easily and throughout the story amazes me. She does this without jeopardizing her plot or her characters' development."...blogger Sherrey Meyer


So Much for Buckingham is available in ebook at all the Amazons,
And in paperback it is available at


And there's an Audiobook! It's narrated by CS Perryess and Anne R. Allen is available from 
Audible and iTunes


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Friday, July 27, 2018

Sleeping Pills—Poisoning People for Fun and Profit #36.



Sleeping pills used to be a reliable way of putting nasty Great-Aunt Augusta out of your misery if you were a financially embarrassed heir who was afraid the old dear was about to change her will and leave all her millions to her pet hedgehog. 

"Flaming June" by Fredrick Lord Leighton
If she had a prescription for them, it would be tough for the police to tell a murder from an accidental overdose, so they came in very handy.

But sedatives have become much safer in recent years. The dangerous barbiturates of the late 19th and early 20th century have largely been supplanted by benzodiazepines. (The first benzodiazepine, Librium, was invented in 1955.)

In the 21st century the newer “Z-drugs” are usually the sleeping pills of choice.

Death from benzodiazepine or Z-drug overdoses alone isn’t common, but when they’re combined with alcohol, antidepressants, or opioids, there’s a much higher risk of overdose. And the elderly and people with chronic illnesses are especially vulnerable to lethal overdoses.

So if Great-Aunt Augusta is suffering from a chronic ailment, that Ambien or Xanax she takes might work just as well as the old-fashioned phenobarbital or Seconal if you put a high dose in her evening snack. Especially if she enjoys a bit of a tipple before bed.

Z-Drugs


Zolpidem (Ambien), Eszopiclone (Lunesta) and, and zaleplon (Sonata) are non-benzodiazepine drugs used in the treatment of insomnia and commonly referred to as the “Z-drugs.” 
Z drugs are typically used to assist people who have a hard time falling asleep, rather than ones who wake frequently. They act on the central nervous system (CNS) and reduce heart rate (the number of times the heart beats per minute), and increase shallow breathing both of which are controlled by the CNS. 

They induce sleep but don’t treat anxiety. And they’re very short lived. They leave the body within an hour or two.

Poisoning somebody with Z-drugs would take rather a lot of pills. One Ambien tablet is usually 10 milligrams. 600 mg could kill somebody in fragile health, but 2,000 mg would be necessary to make sure the job was done.

An overdose of Lunesta can happen at approximately at about 270 mg. and it takes about 200mg. of Sonata. But people have been known to survive that dosage if alcohol isn’t involved.

But it’s good to note that any number of sleeping pills over the recommended dose can kill under the right circumstances. They shut down the respiratory center and people simply stop breathing.


Benzodiazepines


Benzodiazepines (Librium, Ativan, Valium, Xanax) are named because of their actions on the benzodiazepine receptors located in the brain. They act in pretty much the same way as the Z-drugs, but they're less likely to affect other systems in the body.

They're also much more effective in treating anxiety.
Unfortunately they can be drugs of abuse, because it’s easy to build a tolerance for them. The FDA reported that in 2013, benzodiazepines were involved in 31% of the estimated 22,767 deaths from prescription drug overdose in the United States, usually caused by a combination of benzodiazepines with opioids.

Following an overdose of a benzodiazepine, symptoms kick in within 4 hours. Victims tend to appear drunk, with impaired balance, slurred speech, and uncontrolled muscle function. They also can show “paradoxical” symptoms like anxiety and aggression. Sometimes they’ll also suffer nausea and vomiting.

Barbiturates


The old fashioned barbiturates like Nembutal, phenobarbital, and Seconal are still in use, although they're no longer prescribed as sedatives.

They're used for general anesthesia, epilepsy, acute migraines, and cluster headaches. Veterinarians use them for euthanasia of small animals.

And they’re still one of the most abused drugs around. In 2007, the Lancet listed them third in terms of physical harm, fourth in terms of social harm and fifth in dependence.

They are highly addictive and the patient can become addicted within a month. They are a commonly sought-after street drug, since they give a feeling of well-being.

During the first part of the 20th century – especially during the 1930s and 1940s – barbiturates were popular prescription “wonder” drugs, prescribed for everything from autism to epilepsy. It’s estimated that in 1939 over 2.2 million doses were sold in the US. By 1945, that number had nearly tripled. 

"Sleeping Beauty" by Victor Gabriel Gilbert

But the number of barbiturate prescriptions have decreased significantly since the 1970s. 

Death due to acute barbiturate poisoning typically occurs because of a stoppage in breathing. Like other CNS depressants, barbiturates suppress respiration. This is especially true – and especially hazardous – when they are taken in combination with other depressants like alcohol or opioids.

Symptoms of an overdose again mimic drunkenness: staggering, difficulty in thinking, slurred speech, faulty judgement, and drowsiness.

A lot of celebrities of the era died of barbiturate poisoning, either accidental or self-inflicted. Judy Garland, Marilyn Monroe, and Jimi Hendrix all died of barbiturate overdoses. So did columnist Dorothy Kilgallen—although a number of conspiracy theorists of the Nixon era suspected murder in her case.

Antidote


Flumazenil (Romazicon) is a competitive benzodiazepine "receptor antagonist" that can be used as an antidote for both Z-drug and benzodiazepine overdose. But the drug is controversial since it can cause a number of dangerous side effects. 

Here's a list of all the poisons in this series

BOOK OF THE MONTH

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GHOSTWRITERS IN THE SKY:  Camilla Mystery #1 

After her celebrity ex-husband’s ironic joke about her “kinky sex habits” is misquoted in a tabloid, New York etiquette columnist Camilla Randall’s life unravels in bad late night TV jokes.

Nearly broke and down to her last Hermes scarf, she accepts an invitation to a Z-list Writers’ Conference in the wine-and-cowboy town of Santa Ynez, California, where, unfortunately, a cross-dressing dominatrix named Marva plies her trade by impersonating Camilla.

When a ghostwriter’s plot to blackmail celebrities with faked evidence leads to murder, Camilla must team up with Marva to stop the killer from striking again.

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It is available in paper at Amazon & Barnes and Noble 



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Friday, June 29, 2018

A Serial Killer Poisoned the Lunches of 23 Co-Workers—Why?

Most of the poisonings I've talked about in this blog are old news: Victorians poisoning their families with strychnine and 1920s housewives using household rat poison as an alternative to divorce court.

But this week a new and spectacular case of serial poisoning has made the international news.

A 56-year old man identified as “Klaus O.” of Schloss Holte-Stukenbrock in northwestern Germany was arrested in May for poisoning the lunch of a colleague. The engineering worker is also suspected of killing 21 more of his co-workers at a metal fittings company over a period of 18 years. Two other possible victims are alive but on life support.

Klaus was caught on camera adding a mysterious white powder to his co-worker’s lunch.

The intended victim had sensed something “funny” in his lunch and told his boss, who wisely called authorities. They studied the company’s security footage and caught the culprit red-handed, sprinkling a whitish powder into the man’s sandwich. 
The village of Schloss Holte-Stukenbrock, where Karl O. perpetrated his crimes

At first the police thought the food tampering was just a prank, but when they tested the food, they found it had been laced with lead acetate.

Lead acetate—once known as "sugar of lead"—is colorless and not unpleasant in taste. (It's slightly sweet.) But it's highly toxic. It would have caused organ failure and likely the death of the victim, had he finished his sandwich.

When the police investigated Klaus O’s home, they found a home poison-making lab equipped with mercury, lead and cadmium.
He poisoned the sandwich with Lead Acetate 


They also discovered there had been 21 mysteriously premature deaths at the company since 2000 and are now investigating them as possible homicides.

A number of the victims died young of cancer or heart attacks, which could have been the result of heavy metal poisoning. Two other possible victims are still alive, but one is in a coma and another on dialysis, according to Deutsche Welle

They report that the authorities are considering exhuming all 21 bodies.

But there is no information on the possible motive of this model employee of 38 years, whom the personnel manager called “conspicuously inconspicuous.” A colleague said that Klaus “always stayed by himself, did not speak and had no friends.”

Quiet serial killers in Arsenic and Old Lace.


It’s always the quiet ones, isn’t it?

Klaus has refused to comment since his arrest. But this story could provide a fascinating challenge for mystery novelists, couldn’t it? I can imagine a mashup of The Secret Life of Walter Mitty and Arsenic and Old Lace.

The quiet Klaus Ordinary takes the everyday bullying and jostling for power that happens in the workplace, and then one day decides to deal with the guy who’s been stealing his lunch by adding a little “something extra” to the sandwich.

When his victim drops dead of a heart attack and nobody suspects foul play, Mr. O. is emboldened. He decides to deal with the nasty woman in supplies who has refused to upgrade his squeaky uncomfortable chair. And that whiny one who is always claiming he gave her a cold, when he really only had an allergy attack. Then there’s the guy who took all the credit for the project they did as a team...and it's so easy.

A Homicidal Walter Mitty? 
He keeps working at the same job. 38 years. Because hey, there are no nasty bullies or whiners at the company anymore. He’s eliminated them all. 

A lot of us have probably fantasized about solving office problems that way. 

What about you? Does anybody have a scenario to suggest that would cause a quiet man like Klaus O. to become a serial poisoner?

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(But it can be read as a stand-alone)

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Wealthy Doria Windsor is suddenly homeless and accused of a murder she didn't commit. But Camilla, with the help of a brave trio of homeless people, the adorable Mr. X, and a little dog named Toto, is determined to unmask the real killer and discover the dark secrets of Doria’s deceased “financial wizard” husband before Doria is killed herself.

"A warp-speed, lighthearted comedy-mystery"...Abigail Padgett
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Friday, May 25, 2018

Carbon Monoxide: Poisoning People for Fun and Profit—Part 35


Carbon monoxide (CO) is a gas that’s odorless, tasteless, colorless, and slightly less dense than air. 
A Carbon Monoxide (CO) molecule

It is also deadly. Some people call it the “Silent Killer.”

The gas has an unfortunate affinity for hemoglobin, the oxygen-carrying molecule in our red blood cells. CO binds to hemoglobin much more easily than oxygen does, so oxygen gets displaced and the victim suffocates.

According to the Center for Disease Control, it’s responsible for at least 20,000 trips to the emergency room per year in the US. At least 400 of them die.

The first carbon monoxide poisoning symptoms are described as “flu-like”: headache, dizziness, weakness, upset stomach, vomiting, chest pain, and confusion. But people can die of it without feeling symptoms if they’re asleep, drugged or drunk when the gas is released.

One of the tell-tale signs of CO poisoning is that the skin turns a vivid pink and the blood is a bright cherry-red. Other forms of suffocation leave the victim pale. 
CO victims have cherry-red blood

Carbon monoxide detectors are required in 26 US states, and many countries. But even when not required, sensible people should install them. Any heating system can get a glitch that releases CO into the home.

Sources of Carbon Monoxide Poisoning


CO is found anywhere people burn fuel. That’s in vehicles, generators, stoves, fireplaces, grills, furnaces, etc. It can build up indoors and poison people and animals who breathe it.

But it also can affect people in open spaces. There have been cases of people dying while working on their cars in a driveway, if they’ve been working close to car’s exhaust pipe .

Powerboat exhaust can also poison swimmers and water skiers who spend a lot of time on the back of a powerboat with an idling engine.

According to the EPA, the most common sources of CO poisoning are

• Unvented kerosene and gas space heaters

• Leaking chimneys and furnaces

• Back-drafting from furnaces

• Gas water heaters, wood stoves and fireplaces

• Gas stoves

• Generators and other gasoline powered equipment

• Automobile exhaust from attached garages

• Tobacco smoke

Cigarettes produce CO


Recent High Profile Deaths from Carbon Monoxide


A number of high profile deaths have happened in recently from badly ventilated rooms in hotels and apartment buildings where the heating or plumbing systems were compromised.

In March of 2018, an Iowa family that had mysteriously disappeared while on vacation in Mexico turned out to have been killed by carbon monoxide poisoning in their rented vacation condo.

In 2013, a series of mysterious deaths in a North Carolina hotel room had people speculating about curses and homicidal ghosts. But the death of all three people who had stayed in that room were found to be caused by CO poisoning.

In January, 37 people in New Jersey got sick and one died when a heating system went wrong and In June 2017, a NYC apartment building was evacuated after 32 people were poisoned with CO.

Everyone is at risk for CO poisoning, but small children, the elderly, and people with chronic breathing problems are more likely to die if exposed to CO.


Celebrity Deaths from Carbon Monoxide


There have been many famous deaths from CO—mostly from suicide. Breathing gas from an oven or attaching a garden hose to a car’s exhaust and directing it into the interior of the vehicle were the most common methods.
Thelma Todd died of CO--was it murder?

Writers especially seem to choose this method to check out. Sylvia Plath, Anne Sexton, John Kennedy Toole, William Inge, Amy Levy, Nobel winner Yasunari Kawabata, and Pulitzer prize-winning photojournalist Kevin Carter are some high-profile writers who chose that way out.

Emil Zola is thought to have died of CO poisoning which was accidental.

But it’s not just writers. Brad Delp, of the rock group Boston killed himself by lighting two charcoal grills in a bathroom with no ventilation. Politicians Dan White and John Porter East chose the garden hose in the car-exhaust method, and Hollywood stars Libby Holman and Thelma Todd went that way.

Although some thought Thelma Todd’s death was simply accidental. And over the years a lot of people have speculated that the actress was murdered, perhaps on the orders of mobster Lucky Luciano. 

Murder by Carbon Monoxide


Although it’s best known for suicide, CO isn’t an uncommon weapon of homicide.

The drugging-and-car-exhaust method that may have been used on Thelma Todd can be pretty foolproof. A drugged or drunk victim usually isn’t aware of the gas until it’s too late..

And unless the victim has been subdued by force, it can be pretty hard for authorities to detect a homicide by CO, since many suicides will drink or take a drug to hasten death

In the Gaslight Era, lots of people died of CO poisoning when their lighting fixtures developed leaks. 
The Gaslight Era gave murderers a tempting murder weapon

This gave murderers a tempting method for fairly undetectable homicide.

One man killed his victim by forcing a gas tube into his mouth until the carbon monoxide killed him. He then put the body in a bathtub and reported the death as an accidental drowning. Unfortunately for him, the autopsy revealed a curious lack of water in his victim’s lungs.

Another man of the Gaslight Era suffocated his wife with a pillow, then filled the room with gas after breaking apart a gaslight fixture.

But he was caught when the coroner noticed the woman’s face was deathly pale, not pink. Further investigation showed no CO in the victim’s blood.

More recently, a UK college lecturer killed his wife by using the gas from a cylinder from the college lab. He got her to spend the night alone in their travel trailer and fed a tube from the cylinder in through the window of the trailer while she was asleep. He blamed her death on the faulty stove in the trailer’s galley. But the coroner found the level of carbon monoxide in her blood was too high for it to have come from a faulty stove.

There are also some tragic stories of murder by CO that turned out to be suicide pacts gone wrong. 
Hemoglobin prefers CO to O2


In 2014, A 30 year old PA man was found disoriented but alive in a house full of gas, lying by his mother’s corpse. She had left a suicide note saying they were going home to God because they couldn’t afford their medical expenses. He was charged with murder, but later dismissed with probation and time served.


Treatment for CO Poisoning


The treatment for carbon monoxide poisoning is oxygen. In the emergency room, the patient is given pure oxygen to breathe. If the poisoning is severe, they are put in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber.

Most victims recover if they get out of the contaminated space and into the emergency room in time.

But people who survive carbon monoxide poisoning can develop long-term health problems associated with brain injury.
The brain is extremely sensitive to lack of oxygen. Symptoms of brain damage may not show up for several weeks. The most common injuries from CO poisoning are chronic headaches, memory loss, blindness, confusion, disorientation, poor coordination, and hallucinations. 

Not a good gas for humans. Get one of those CO detectors if you don’t have one yet.

Do you know of any famous mystery novels or films where CO is used as a murder weapon? 

Here's a list of all the poisons in this series

***

BOOK OF THE MONTH


On Sale on Amazon from May 25--June 8


SHERWOOD, LTD: Camilla Mystery #2

Snarky, delicious fun! The Camilla Randall mysteries are a laugh-out-loud mashup of romantic comedy, crime fiction, and satire: Dorothy Parker meets Dorothy L. Sayers. Perennially down-and-out socialite Camilla Randall a.k.a "the Manners Doctor" is a magnet for murder, mayhem and Mr. Wrong, but she always solves the mystery in her quirky, but oh-so-polite way. Usually with more than a little help from her gay best friend, Plantagenet Smith.

Sherwood Ltd. takes aim at the world of small press publishing and all things British. It's a madcap tale of intrigue, romance and murder set near the real Sherwood Forest in the English Midlands.

After discovering a dead body near the dumpster where she's been diving for recyclables, down-on-her luck socialite Camilla Randall escapes to England, enticed by the charming Peter Sherwood—a self-styled Robin Hood who offers to publish a book of her etiquette columns at his unorthodox publishing company. Suddenly-homeless American manners expert Camilla Randall becomes a 21st century Maid Marian—living rough near the real Sherwood Forest with a band of outlaw English erotica publishers—led by a charming, self-styled Robin Hood who unfortunately may intend to kill her. 


Sherwood, Ltd. is also available in ebook from iTunes, GooglePlay Scribd, 24Symbols, Inktera, Kobo, Nook, and Smashwords. And in paper from Amazon and Barnes and Noble
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