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Woman exposed to nerve agent in southern England dies; police launch murder investigation
Washington Post ^ | July 8, 2018 | WIlliam Booth

Posted on 07/08/2018 5:40:44 PM PDT by BenLurkin

LONDON — A middle-aged British woman, who somehow came into contact with the Soviet-era nerve agent known as Novichok, died Sunday evening at a hospital in south England where she was being treated for exposure to the military-grade chemical weapon.

Prime Minister Theresa May said she was “appalled and shocked by the death,” and announced that it is now being investigated as a murder.

Dawn Sturgess, 44, was one of five people who became seriously ill after being exposed to the nerve agent in the Salisbury area.

...

Sturgess lived in a supported-living facility that helps residents struggling with alcohol or drug addiction. Police said she was exposed to the chemical last weekend, absorbing it through her hands. She survived for eight days.

Her boyfriend, Charlie Rowley, 45, was also exposed and became sick a few hours later. Rowley remains in critical condition and in a coma at the Salisbury hospital.

Friends told the British press that Rowley would often search dumpsters for items to barter or sell.

...

One line of inquiry suggests that after the Skripals were attacked by the nerve agent, the assailants disposed of vials, ampuls or a mixing kit — or some other contaminated items — and that Rowley and Sturgess found the material and were accidentally exposed.

Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu, the head of Britain’s Counter Terrorism Policing Network, said 100 detectives were working as quickly as possible to identify the source of the recent contamination.

(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...


TOPICS: United Kingdom
KEYWORDS: britain; mi6; novichok; portondown; russia
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1 posted on 07/08/2018 5:40:44 PM PDT by BenLurkin
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To: BenLurkin
Well that will make all the difference in the world! It's one thing to have a nerve gas attack, but when someone dies from it, then it's time to bring in the big guns—because then it's MURDER!!!
 
2 posted on 07/08/2018 5:44:48 PM PDT by Governor Dinwiddie (MAGA in the mornin', MAGA in the evenin', MAGA at suppertime . . .)
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To: BenLurkin
Expect something like:
"After the summary elimination of all culturally sensitive groups from the investigation, authorities are baffled."
3 posted on 07/08/2018 5:46:19 PM PDT by Telepathic Intruder
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To: BenLurkin

4 posted on 07/08/2018 5:52:21 PM PDT by Governor Dinwiddie (MAGA in the mornin', MAGA in the evenin', MAGA at suppertime . . .)
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To: BenLurkin

Awful! This case is a complete mystery. I have not seen anything made available which I would call real evidence. And now, tragically, this woman has died.


5 posted on 07/08/2018 6:09:59 PM PDT by BlackVeil ('The past is never dead. It's not even past.' William Faulkner)
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To: Governor Dinwiddie

They were dumpster divers living in a rehab unit. Hmmm. This is imho not exactly murder, then.


6 posted on 07/08/2018 6:24:07 PM PDT by bboop (does not suffer fools gladly)
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To: BenLurkin

Putin did it. They must have been ex Russian spies./s


7 posted on 07/08/2018 6:26:10 PM PDT by mindburglar (I missed my flight...)
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To: mindburglar

So they went from dumpster diving to they found the stuff. So my question is, do they ever empty the dumpsters over there? It has been months since Putin offed the spy.


8 posted on 07/08/2018 6:45:00 PM PDT by MPJackal ("From my cold dead hands.")
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To: MPJackal

Could some perps, Russian or not, have just prep’ped chemicals for a major attack over there ??


9 posted on 07/08/2018 6:48:28 PM PDT by George from New England (escaped CT in 2006, now living north of Tampa)
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To: MPJackal

Good question. Could also lead to finding out who actually killed that ex Russian spy. If the nerve agent was dumped in that dumpster, it could leave residue that lasts a long time. I don’t know how long that stuff lasts. A minuscule remnant could be enough to kill someone.

If somebody dumped the stuff in that area they could narrow it down.


10 posted on 07/08/2018 6:51:02 PM PDT by mindburglar (I missed my flight...)
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To: MPJackal
Or since Putin was accused of offing the spy which seemed the most plausible scenario at the time.

However, both of these incidents are just a few miles from a Brit chemical weapons facility.

Which is more likely:
1. The Russians brought more than needed when they came to kill an ex spy and left it in a dumpster where a couple of addicts found months later.
2. The Russians returned for a random killing.
3. Theresa May's feckless government killed the ex spies either as a false flag, or because they were suspected double agents and security at the weapons facility isn't any more competent than the rest of what passes for government in old blighty.

I initially assumed option one, now I lean towards the third possibility.

11 posted on 07/08/2018 6:57:36 PM PDT by MrEdd (Caveat Emptor)
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To: BenLurkin

Wait, that first attack was months ago, that dumpster hadn’t been emptied in all those months?


12 posted on 07/08/2018 7:19:15 PM PDT by McGavin999 ("The press is impotent when it abandons itself to falsehood."Thomas Jeffersons)
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To: MrEdd

Your post offers sound possibilities to consider. I would add another. What if there is a crazy, or malicious, employee at Porton Down, who is doing this?


13 posted on 07/08/2018 7:28:42 PM PDT by BlackVeil ('The past is never dead. It's not even past.' William Faulkner)
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To: BenLurkin

Maybe it is a cold war stash in Britain much like the stashes of un-found soviet firearms in the USA to be used by agents in the US in case of war.


14 posted on 07/08/2018 7:40:30 PM PDT by Ruy Dias de Bivar
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To: BlackVeil

Originally it was thought that both of them had gotten sick from heroin overdoses, which meant that they were known drug users. But they were also “dumpster divers” and I suspect that they bumped into something that somebody - or some agency - was trying to throw away.


15 posted on 07/08/2018 7:43:34 PM PDT by livius
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To: BlackVeil
What if there is a crazy, or malicious, employee at Porton Down, who is doing this?

Britain has had its share of serial killers...

16 posted on 07/08/2018 8:30:42 PM PDT by mac_truck (aide toi et dieu t'aidera)
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To: mindburglar

Too bad they couldn’t find out from the woman where she’d been rooting around, but maybe now all the dumpsters in the vicinity could be chemically tested.


17 posted on 07/08/2018 10:17:49 PM PDT by HiTech RedNeck (Tryin' hard to win the No-Bull Prize.)
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To: McGavin999

Maybe it HAD been emptied, but there was enough residue of the poison in the dumpster to kill the woman who was rooting through it. I’d be running chemical tests of the dumpsters at this point to see if there is one that has the novichok on it.


18 posted on 07/08/2018 10:19:42 PM PDT by HiTech RedNeck (Tryin' hard to win the No-Bull Prize.)
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To: George from New England

That’s a thought not to be taken lightly. If the intelligence services over there are worth a damn they are exploring that angle.


19 posted on 07/08/2018 10:20:17 PM PDT by BBell (es-tu stupide):>()
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To: mac_truck

And yet what would have one first attack Skripal, and then this woman? The dumpster diving theory seems to make more sense.


20 posted on 07/08/2018 10:20:50 PM PDT by HiTech RedNeck (Tryin' hard to win the No-Bull Prize.)
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