Berkeley Engineer Pleads Guilty to Poisoning Colleague
A Berkeley engineer pleaded guilty to poisoning his female co-worker with cadmium over two years, leading to an expunged record.
2 min read
A chemical engineer in California was caught on video poisoning his female co-worker, sparking a legal battle and public scrutiny. David Xu, 41, a scientist at Berkeley Engineering and Research, had secretly been poisoning his colleague, Rong Yuan, with cadmium for nearly two years. Cadmium is a toxic heavy metal, and Yuan had suffered vomiting and hair loss for two years before discovering that her co-worker was poisoning her.
Years of Health Struggles
Rong Yuan saw countless doctors as her condition worsened. One day, Yuan’s mother noticed an unusual odor coming from her daughter’s water bottle. This prompted Yuan to set up a hidden camera at her desk, and that is when she caught Xu pouring the cadmium into her water bottle.
Legal Proceedings and Expungement
In 2019, Xu was charged with premeditated murder, but in a plea agreement, he pleaded guilty to poisoning, and he was sentenced to two years’ probation. On Monday, a judge granted Xu’s request to have his record expunged, despite objections from prosecutors.
Unanswered Questions
Yuan still has no idea why Xu poisoned her, however, she revealed that there were times that he told her to pursue other jobs. A Berkeley engineer whose co-worker was convicted of poisoning her is speaking publicly about the case for the first time after a court agreed to expunge his felony conviction.
Rong Yuan said she spent years trying to understand a series of unexplained health problems starting in 2017, including vomiting and hair loss, before discovering what she says was happening at her workplace. “Shocked. I don’t know why,” Yuan said when asked what she thought after reviewing video she recorded.
For more than two years, she sought answers from countless doctors, but her condition continued to worsen. The breakthrough came after her mother noticed an unusual smell coming from her water bottle. When cleaning it did not solve the problem, Yuan decided to install a small camera at her desk.
Source: The Gateway Pundit
