October 14th 2024.
The world was shocked when news broke of Dawn Sturgess' tragic death, caused by exposure to Novichok, a Russian nerve agent. The perfume bottle she had innocently applied to her skin contained a deadly amount of the poison, enough to kill thousands of people. The inquiry into her death revealed that she had unknowingly come into contact with the substance, which had been carefully concealed in the perfume bottle.
The 2018 Salisbury poisonings, which made headlines around the globe, also involved multiple other victims who were poisoned with Novichok. During today's inquiry, Andrew O'Connor KC pointed out the particularly shocking aspect of Dawn's death - she had no idea she was in grave danger as she applied the poison to her own skin. The highly toxic liquid had been deliberately hidden in a perfume bottle, and it was later discovered that the bottle contained enough poison to kill thousands of people. It was left in a public place, posing a risk that anyone could have found it and unknowingly taken it home.
Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov are still wanted in connection with the Novichok poisoning attacks. Dawn's tragic death was a result of her unfortunate contact with the nerve agent, and O'Connor argued that those responsible for discarding the bottle in a public place had shown a complete disregard for human life.
Sadly, Dawn's ordeal was not the only one. This incident followed the attempted murder of former spy Sergei Skripal, his daughter Yulia, and police officer Nick Bailey, who were all poisoned with Novichok in nearby Salisbury just months earlier. It was believed that a Russian military intelligence squad had smeared the nerve agent on Mr. Skripal's door handle. While all three of them survived, Dawn's boyfriend Charlie Rowley also came into contact with the poison, unknowingly giving her the bottle that contained it.
But what exactly is Novichok? This nerve agent, also known as "newcomer," was developed in the Soviet Union in the 1970s and '80s. It has over 100 different formulations and is extremely potent. Nerve agents work by disrupting the electrical signals between the brain and muscles, blocking the release of an enzyme that leads to muscle spasms, fluid secretion in the lungs, organ failure, convulsions, and even cardiac arrest. The nerve agent is in the form of an ultra-fine powder, making it easy to inhale, ingest, or absorb through the skin. It can be placed in food, drinks, objects, or even released into the air, making it a dangerous and deadly weapon.
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