British man unknowingly poisons partner with Novichok-laced perfume

A tragic incident unfolded in June 2018 when a British man, Charlie Rowley, unintentionally poisoned his partner, Dawn Sturgess, with the nerve agent Novichok after presenting her with a perfume as a gift. The perfume bottle, discovered in a donation bin, was contaminated with a lethal dose of the chemical.

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I thought it was a sincere and thoughtful gift, and she was delighted to receive it. But everything turned to tragedy so quickly… She sprayed a little, sniffed it, then applied it to her wrist.

Rowley had found the Nina Ricci perfume, still in its packaging, while searching for an engagement ring for Sturgess. He presented it to her as a gift, unaware of its deadly contents. Sturgess applied the perfume, and shortly after, began feeling unwell, complaining of a headache before collapsing. Rowley, who also fell ill hours later and slipped into a coma, only learned weeks after Sturgess's death that the perfume was the cause.

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At one point, I was talking to Dawn, and the next moment she was no longer herself, she was unresponsive… I tried to revive her. Everything was happening in slow motion, I panicked.

An investigation determined that the small vial contained enough Novichok to kill 10,000 people. It is believed Sturgess became an accidental victim in a dispute between Russian spies. Months earlier, two Russian spies living near the couple were poisoned with Novichok but survived. Rowley, however, never knew why the nerve agent ended up in the perfume he gave to his partner.

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This small vial contained enough poison to kill 10,000 people.