Boyfriend of Novichok victim told her ‘look what I found’ before handing her perfume bottle containing fatal poison
THE boyfriend of Novichok victim Dawn Sturgess told her “look what I found” before handing her a perfume bottle containing the poison, an inquiry heard.
Charlie Rowley said the 44-year-old fell ill just ten to 15 minutes after spraying the nerve agent on her wrist.
He had unwittingly gifted Dawn the chemical weapon after it was left in a discarded perfume bottle in Amesbury, Wiltshire.
It came after the attempted murders of ex-spy Sergei Skripal, his daughter Yulia and police officer Nick Bailey, who were poisoned in nearby Salisbury in March 2018.
A public inquiry into Dawn’s death heard today how Charlie gave his partner the bottle on June 30 that year as she was “a bit moody” with him.
He told her “look what I found” before spilling the Novichok over his hands as he attempted to open the bottle.
Dawn then sprayed the “oily substance” on her wrist, which Charlie said had a “horrible odour”.
He added: “Dawn began feeling unwell about 10 to 15 minutes after she sprayed the perfume on her wrist.
“She was sat on the sofa and having a discussion about finishing doing her hair. She wanted to put some hair colour in her hair, she’d just put blonde in her hair and she wanted to put some blue, blue colouring or something.
“She said that I might need to help her, but then she said that she felt ‘very, very strange’ and that she had to go and lie in the bath, which I thought was a bit strange.
“After a minute I went into the bathroom to see what she was doing and I found her lying in the bath with her clothes on, just lying in the bath, convulsing and foaming at the mouth, and I panicked, I didn’t know what to do.
“Thoughts were running through my head and I didn’t know what to do, I was thinking ‘What do I do? What do I do?’. The only thing I could think was to call 999. I did that and had a complete memory blank.”
The inquiry heard it was “pure chance” that Dawn sprayed herself with the lethal poison.
It is believed the perfume bottle, which was inside a Nina Ricci box, was dumped by members of Russia‘s military intelligence squad.
An international arrest warrant was issued for three men thought to have been involved in the attacks on British soil.
However, it is unlikely they will ever stand trial as the Russian constitution does not allow the extradition of its citizens.
Two of the Skripal suspects previously gave an interview to Russian state media claiming they were only in the UK to visit Salisbury Cathedral.
The Dawn Sturgess Inquiry, chaired by former Supreme Court judge Lord Hughes of Ombersley, continues at The Guildhall in Salisbury.