BIZARRE

German Man Suspected of Fatally Poisoning 21 Colleagues

A failed lunch poisoning tipped police off to cases dating back to 2000.

A 56-year-old German man who allegedly attempted but failed to poison a colleague is now under suspicion of killing 21 other colleagues in the same manner. Police in the town of Schloss Holte-Stukenbrock say the man, who has not been identified, was caught on camera smearing a powdery substance on his colleague’s lunch. The victim had noticed something was off with the food before consuming it, prompting him to contact authorities. They subsequently discovered the poison would have caused severe organ damage—and 21 former employees of the same company are believed to have been poisoned by the same suspect in a similar manner. In incidents dating back to 2000, other employees died of heart attacks or cancer in cases experts now say could have been caused by heavy-metal poisoning. Police also discovered numerous toxic chemicals in the apartment belonging to the suspect, who has yet to comment on the allegations.