‘TWISTED FORM OF ENTERTAINMENT’

California Man Filmed Himself Poisoning Homeless People in ‘Spicy Food Challenge,’ Cops Say

The victims were allegedly tricked into ingesting a substance twice as strong as pepper spray.

A California man has been charged with poisoning eight homeless people in a string of attacks that he allegedly filmed so he could relive them at home. William Robert Cable, 38, allegedly told some of the people that they were taking part in a “spicy food challenge,” while other victims were completely unaware that their food had been laced with a caustic substance derived from searingly hot chili peppers. The victims were all poisoned in the coastal town of Huntington Beach. All were allegedly tricked into ingesting oleoresin capsicum—the same chemical compound from which the active ingredient in pepper spray is extracted. “These human beings were preyed upon because they are vulnerable,” District Attorney Todd Spitzer said. “They were exploited and poisoned as part of a twisted form of entertainment, and their pain was recorded so that it could be relived by their attacker over and over again.” The victims all survived but several required hospitalization, according to Reuters.