Chapter 8: Cyanide and the Death on the Nile

Is it any wonder why people are so afraid of everything these days? It is almost as if even thinking about taking a step outside can kill you. The scarier part is, staying indoors is just as dangerous. It seems as if nothing is safe: not the house you live in, not the food you prepare yourself, nor the air you breathe, and certainly not even the one you love. Cheryl Lewis made a fatal mistake: meeting John Allan. Of course, how was she supposed to know John was only into her for her money? Poor, naïve Cheryl. It seems like men these days just can’t be trusted. But that is not the only thing that comes with false advertising. Tylenol, the simplest of pain-relievers, and the most trusted by almost everyone, must now be inspected before even opening the package. Someone had the bright idea of contaminating it with a deadly poison, killing innocent patronages of local stores. But what does Cheryl Lewis and Tylenol has in common, you ask? The answer is rather simple: cyanide.

            John Allan and Cheryl Lewis met in 1993, both single, divorcees of previous marriages gone awry. Cheryl was a successful solicitor, and John, at this point, was a bum. He depended on social security and Cheryl’s income to survive. His degree in industrial chemistry from Hatfield Polytechnic, now the University of Hertfordshire, seems to have been a waste except for his access to cyanide and to upkeep his interesting hobby of collecting butterflies and preserving them. Next thing you know, he’ll be skinning his victims and making clothes out of them! Cheryl avoided such agony, thank goodness. In fact, Cheryl lucked out with just a nice evening drink. Gin and tonic, on the…cyanide! Vacationing near Luxor, Egypt, the two stayed in the New Winter Palace Hotel. Cheryl and John enjoyed a lovely dinner together, and soon after, Cheryl decided to shower. While she was indisposed, John spiked her gin and tonic with cyanide. Almost as soon as the drink hit her lips, the effects of the poison took action. The pain Cheryl was suffering was unbearable, and within minutes, she was sweating as if it was 110 degrees outside and her pulse was almost undetectable. Her skin was tinted blue, and she was foaming at the mouth while a curious odor was streaming from it, filling the room. Death followed shortly, and Cheryl’s death certificate read as heart failure and acute coronary thrombosis. After her body was brought home, and an autopsy was done. The pathologist found no trace of disease in Cheryl’s body that would cause such sudden death, but he did find an inflamed stomach. However, there was no analogous inflammation in her mouth or gullet, which would suggest that she consumed a drink laced with cyanide. Unfortunately, cyanide disappears from the tissue after death, and the fact that she had been embalmed before she was flown back home did not help the case either. The amount of smoking that Cheryl did also was an indicator that there would be more than a usual amount of cyanide in the body. There really was no other evidence to prove that she had been poisoned, except the shady findings of the investigation of John Allan.

            About a decade before the death of Cheryl Lewis took place, an unimaginable event took place in the United States. People were dropping like flies, right after they consumed Extra Strength Tylenol. The manufacturers really added extra strength, didn’t they?! People were being labeled as have suffering a massive stroke or heart attack. Coincidentally, these victims had all consumed the drug shortly before his or her death, but it was not coincidental in the fact that an unknown person had bought several bottles of Extra Strength Tylenol, replaced the contents with about sixty milligrams of potassium cyanide, and put them back on the shelf. After a suggestion that these symptoms that the victims suffered may have been from cyanide poisoning, and don’t you know, he was right. The contents of the Tylenol bottles that the victims used before their deaths had all contained between and ten poisoned pills. The pharmaceutical company recalled 31 million bottles, thinking that it was their blunder, when in fact, it was a random occurrence of purposeful poisoning.  

            Cyanide is actually the quickest acting of all the poisons. Allan could have been more considerate in choosing his poison for Cheryl though, at least let her enjoy her time in Luxor if she’s going to die anyway, amiright? At least she and those who thought Tylenol was safe did not suffer a long time. This highly poisonous chemical begins as a carbon atom and a nitrogen atom bonded together by a triple bond, compromising three electron pairs (Emsley, 2008, p.156). It is a highly reactive group and can form stable organic compounds, called nitriles (Emsley, 2008, p.156). Out of the different forms of cyanide that can be formed, hydrogen cyanide (HCN), is the deadliest as just a small amount inhaled can kill (Emsley, 2008, p.156). It is, in fact, a weak acid when dissolved in water, which is where its original name, prussic acid, was derived (Emsley, 2008, p.156). Cyanides are natural chemicals since the body does indeed need a slight trace of them to function because cyanide is a component of vitamin B12 as well as a component of [NiFe]-hydrogenase enzyme which catalyzes the oxidation of hydrogen (Emsley, 2008, p.157). A cobalt atom is at the center of the B12 atom to which the cyanide bonds for it forms a strong bond with metals because of its negative charge and its ability to form pi-bonds (Emsley, 2008, p.157). All of these are an important part of the B12 vitamin to which the body needs because without, the body will suffer from anemia, and synthesis of nucleic acids in DNA and of the amino acids in proteins will falter, creating more serious problems (Emsley, 2008, p.157).

            Cyanides are actually found in unexpected places, as they are used to manufacture a variety of products, such as cosmetics, nylon, Plexiglas, animal/poultry feed and a number of pharmacuticals including Celexa, Tagamet and Isoptin (Emsley, 2008, p.158). The only way that these products can include a form of a cyanide in their makeup is due to the fact that when bonded with a carbon atom in a larger molecule, cyanide loses its toxicity (Emsley, 2008, p.158). Another fun fact here is that cyanides are also found in very common foods, produced by plants, such as almonds and spinach, and seeds in the fruits of apples, cherries, apricots and peaches (Emsley, 2008, p.158). Because early ancient diets included mostly foods made up mostly by glycosides (cyanide-containing group in its molecular structure), the body evolved to fit  rhodanese, an enzyme  that  instantly detoxifies the cyanide radical by changing it to a thiocyanate group (-SCN) which is significantly less toxic (Emsley, 2008, p.159) The rhodanese enzyme is part of every human mitochondria so that adults can detoxify up to 1 gram of cyanide over a twenty-four hour period (Emsley, 2008, p.159).

            But what happens if the amount of cyanide consumed is greater than the rate at which the body can detoxify it? Serious problems occur, obviously. Hydrogen cyanide, if taken orally, will be absorbed across the gastrointestinal mucosa, which will then stimulate hyperventilation from an immediate response from the central nervous system (Hung et al., 2009). It can also lead to unconsciousness, if the dose is strong enough (Hung et al., 2009). Findings from a case report in which victims consume apricot seeds showed that victims suffered headache, vomiting, irritability, abdominal pain, dyspnoea, flushing, hypotension, hyptertension, hypoventilation, bright venous blood, and the smell of almonds on one’s breath (Akyildiz et al., 2009). The most severe side effect of cyanide poisoning is to go into a coma, if not death (Akylidiz et al., 2009). After ingestion of cyanide, the chemical is absorbed and circulated throughout the body, while it causes anoxia of the tissues by blocking cytochrome oxidase which can be seen in the heart, kidney and lungs (Akylidiz et al., 2009). Then anerobic metabolism occurs due to hypoxia, producing lactic acid (Akyildiz et al., 2009). What does all this mean, you ask? Simply, when the enzyme, cytochrome oxidase, can no longer function due to the blockage of cyanide, it becomes inactive, so the last transfer of electrons from that enzyme to the oxygen is blocked, and the chemical reactions that contribute the energy for imperative processes cannot progress which means you will die; cyanide is an irreversible enzyme inhibitor (Emsley, 2008, p.161). This means that the oxygen transported from the lungs can’t be utilized, which gives understanding as to why the blood turns a brighter color (Emsley, 2008, p.161). This color was probably the same color John Allan’s face turned when he was charged for the murder of Cheryl Lewis.

            On February 5, 1999, John Allan was arrested after an investigation of Cheryl’s death. Police found that Cheryl’s will was forged by John himself, as well as claims of thievery concerning Cheryl’s jewelry. In March of 2000, he was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment. As for the Tylenol mystery, the crime was never solved, though there were those who followed in the footsteps, and tried to repeat the incident, but were caught sometime after. The original scoundrel was never found. Here lies yet another unsolved mystery. For every mystery, there is somewhere, somewhere, who knows the truth. Perhaps that someone is watching. Perhaps... it's you. Next time on Molecules of Murder...

Sources

Akyildiz, B. N., Kurtoğlu, S. S., Kondolot, M. M., & Tunç, A. A. (2010). Cyanide poisoning caused by ingestion of apricot seeds. Annals Of Tropical Paediatrics, 30(1), 39-43.  

Emsley, J. (2008). Molecules of murder: Criminal molecules and classic cases. The Royal Society of Publishing: U.K.

Hung, D., Tsan, Y., Yu, Y., & Hsu, C. (2009). Cyanide poisoning in taiwan. The Lancet, 374(9696), 1212-1212. 

Ending quote courtesy of Robert Stack:

http://mayclaire.res-alian.com/memoriam/rstack/movquotes.html

Image Courtesy of:

http://www.realmagick.com/hydrogen-cyanide/

 

Chapter 7: Life & Death & CO: Carbon Monoxide and the Home-Made Gas Chamber

 Don’t hold your breath. On second thought, you might want to, especially if you ever had doubts whether your husband was psychotic or not.  Adair Javier Garcia’s wife should have second guessed herself when leaving her family behind, and Margaret Jones, well, she had no idea her husband he couldn’t keep his hose to himself in more than one way. The women easily failed to detect the danger that lay in her future, just as how easily it is for carbon monoxide to go undetected. Described as a “silent killer,” carbon monoxide has no means of paltry disclosure until it is too late.

            Adair Javier Garcia’s wife left him to tend to their six children sometime before February of 2002, possibly concluding that she realized that having six children plus a husband was a mistake. But that did not stop Garcia from being a loving and caring father. He took his children to see Peter Pan 2, treat them to a gourmet dinner at Chuck E. Cheese’s and tucked them right into bed after they made tapes of themselves for their mother. His love for his children was clearly undeniable from the evident purchase of charcoal and matches he planned on using to kill himself and his children. I think it’s safe to say that he did not win the Father of the Year award this time around. In his own tape, Garcia explains to his wife that she broke his heart, and that killing himself and his children was the only way he could approach the situation. It seems that Garcia took the phrase “crazy in love” to heart, literally. Garcia closed the windows and secured blankets over the outsides of them and lit the charcoal he purchased earlier in a grill in the hallway outside his children’s bedrooms. The next morning, Garcia’s mother-in-law came to take the children to school and found the house filled with smoke, and quickly called the authorities. Out of the six children, only one child survived, as well as Garcia himself.

            In a different murderous attempt, Mr. Cranog Jones sought the aid of carbon monoxide to eradicate the life of Margaret, his beloved wife. Educated and a well-to-do citizen, Mr. Jones was an engineer and the head of education and training at an industrial defense company in England. Being a typical man, Mr. Jones sought pleasure from outside his not-so-happy home, and had numerous extramarital affairs. It is quite obvious Mr. Jones failed to use the head that was placed on his shoulders, and used the other  to do his thinking, but somewhere along the lines, he proposed that murdering his wife would be the right decision, in order to keep a steady hand on her finances, yet ridding himself of the supposedly wretched woman. Cunningly, Jones disguised his devious projection as the simple installation of a brand new sink and vanity unit. He drilled a hole through the outside of his wife’s bedroom, which he filled with a plastic pipe that directed through the conservatory and down the hall at the back of the garage. Another hole was made through the garage so that the exhaust pipe of her vehicle would fit. That night while Margaret was dreaming lovely dreams of her adorning husband, Jones was connecting a box to the pipe in the bedroom wall, and after, starting the car with its choke at its maximum. His last move was to the arrange the box in Margaret’s bedroom so that she would breathe in the fumes and become unconscious, carry her body into the garage, and disassemble the deadly unit. However, just as many tenderfoot criminals do, Jones did not think his plan through, and the sounds from the car awoke Sleeping Beauty, and she found him crouching at the side of her bed. At least he was smart enough to kill the phone connection so that Margaret could not use it. That’s a start. Luckily for Margaret, she made it safely out of the house and called the local police.

            It may be concluded that the husbands in both these cases chose carbon monoxide as their poison due to its valuable characteristic. Let me rephrase that. The characteristics in choosing carbon monoxide as a weapon is cherished complete and utter whack jobs. Suicide and accidental death are the most two common forms of death caused by carbon monoxide. Whether it is sticking your head in the oven or a leaky pipe, carbon monoxide is a deadly killer that, when not used to tell the world how much you hate it, may be prevented. Carbon Monoxide is a colorless, odorless and very poisonous gas which means that those who are being poisoned cannot directly tell. Carbon monoxide (CO), works its magic by converting hemoglobin in the blood to useless carboxyhemoglobin, which annihilates any capacity it has to bring oxygen from the lungs to the muscles and brain. This may bring about death, if not taken care of immediately, and if not death, then it may cause permanent brain damage. This poisonous gas is derived from carbon or methane, CH4, by reacting either molecules with oxygen or steam (Emsley, 2008, p.137). Carbon monoxide is a production of incomplete combustion of hydrocarbons, and can be produced from carbon or through a means of which a synthesis, or syngas, is produced (Ernst & Zimbrak, 1998; Emsley, 2008, p.137). The chemical structure of this gas a simple, two-atom molecule, contains the same number of electrons and has a triple bond between the two atoms (Emsley, 2008, p.138). The carbon monoxide molecule is that of a polar one, and no, this does not mean it likes the cold, or is found in the North Pole where Santa lives, but rather that it has an uneven distribution of electrons; it is asymmetrical (Emsley, 2008, p.138) The one, non-bonding pair of electrons may attach to metal atoms (Emsley, 2008, p.138).

            Ironically, there are slight traces of carbon monoxide that can be found in the human body, but obviously, too much can kill a person. Research results yielded that carbon monoxide is actually made in various tissues of the body by heme oxygenase, an enzyme that breaks down heme and was suggested that it was abundant in the spleen, but other research suggested it was found in the brain (Carbon monoxide, 1993). The carbon atom in carbon monoxide originates from a –CH group in the hemoglobin molecule, which can be oxidized to carbon monoxide with help from heme oxygenase, in the body, and this suggests that carbon monoxide may actually play the role of a neurotransmitter (Emsley, 2008, p.145). The hemoglobin in the human body is the actual distributer of the slight amount of carbon dioxide that is found, as well as the main attracting force for the chemical. Isn’t it ironic, don’t you think? Inside the bodies of Garcia’s children, a chemical reaction was happening. The toxicity of carbon monoxide is a result from a tissue hypoxia (inadequate oxygenation of the blood), and direct carbon monoxide-mediated damage at the cellular level (Ernst & Zimbrak, 1998). The carbon dioxide and oxygen race to the binding site of hemoglobin, and unfortunately for oxygen, hemoglobin has more of an attraction for carbon monoxide. Good guys always finish last! The carbon monoxide attachment alters the shape of the hemoglobin, which then affects the release of oxygen, and accounts for tissue damage and cellular hypoxia problems (Ernst & Zimbrak, 1998).

            Just as most poisons, peoples’ bodies react differently to different chemicals. What Garcia’s children went through, and what Mr. Jone’s had hoped his wife would suffer from, would be a deadly reaction to the carbon monoxide the two men released into the home. Slight symptoms may occur with increasing intensity of headaches, then dizziness and nausea, leading to unconsciousness and eventually, death (Emsley, 2008, p.142). Air concentrations of 35 ppm cause no detectable symptoms, but the more concentrated, the more likely symptoms will occur. The amount of carbon monoxide in the air we breathe is usually less than 0.001 percent, which is no cause for concern (Ernst & Zimbrak, 1998). However, levels of carbon monoxide between 1,500 and 12,000 ppm (parts per million) cause death within two hours to as little as ten minutes (Emsley, 2008, p.142). The quickness of the poison as well as concealing its presence is why these two men chose to use such a chemical as carbon monoxide. After concluding that one is suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning, the victim must be subjected to, at least, pure oxygen, for it reduces the half-life of carboxyhemoglobin by making a come-back at the binding site and showing the hemoglobin that there is more to him than just his looks, not only does he keep the blood flow healthy, he can improve tissue oxygenation, too, and that’s all that matters! (Ernst & Zimbrak, 1998). However, it was too late for the five Garcia children to be rescued saved, but luckily for Garcia himself, his child, and even Mrs. Jones, they escaped great tragedy.

            Garcia was arrested in March of 2005, and was convicted June 8, 2005. His life was spared, but he was sentenced to life. He could have gotten away with it too if it wasn’t for his blundering mistake: the amount of carbon monoxide was probably more or less around 500 ppm, which is only about 0.005 percent. This is enough to cause dizziness and nausea for himself and his nine-year old daughter. As for Mr. Jones, his trial stood April of 1993, and on April 23, he was found guilty. He was sentenced only nine years in jail. I think the lesson we can take from this is to always keep track of who are you are married to, and if things aren't going well, second guess any headache or dizziness you're feeling, for your own safety. Just to be on the safe side, run to the Home Depot and buy a carbon monoxide detector, or two, and just don't tell your spouse where you have placed them, since you never really can tell if it's just a migraine from having six children, or it's your husband trying to kill you. No big deal, right?

Sources

(1993). Carbon monoxide: Killer to brain messenger in one step. Science, 259(5093). The American Association for the Advancement of Science: Washington.

Emsley, J. (2008). Molecules of murder: Criminal molecules and classic cases. United Kingdom: The Royal Society of Chemistry.

 Ernst, A & Zimbrak, J.D. (1998).Carbon monoxide poisoning. The new england journal of medicine, 339(22). Massachusetts Medical Society: Boston. 

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