Man puts poison in baby food jars, sentenced to 12 years in jail

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A 54-year-old man in Ravensburg, Germany was sentenced to 12 and a half years of imprisonment for “poisoning” baby food jars in supermarkets.

The suspect (identity withheld) was found guilty on five counts of attempted murder and attempted extortion under the threat of force, by a district court on Monday, Oct. 22, as reported by DW on the same day. Despite claiming to be diagnosed with a borderline personality disorder and consuming large amounts of alcohol and painkillers at the time of the crime, a psychiatrist deemed him responsible for his actions.

His lawyer conceded the extortion charge but rejected the attempted murder verdict,. The defendant was given a week to appeal against the conviction. His lawyer has yet to state whether they will be making an appeal.

The suspect placed five poisoned baby food jars on the shelves of supermarkets in Friedrichshafen in Sept. 2017, the report said. He apparently had laced the jars with ethylene glycol, a toxin found in antifreeze mixtures, in a bid to force the baby food companies to pay him $13.5 million (around P725.5 million).

Chief prosecutor Peter Vobiller said the dose of the toxin found in the jars would have been enough to kill a child. He said in the broadcast that the reason why no one was poisoned from the baby food is not only due to police efforts but also to “a goodly portion of luck, to be honest.” Kate Matriano/JB

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