The District Court in Szczecin sentenced a man to two years in prison for causing the poisoning of a 14-month-old child and other residents of the building on Christmas 2020. The child’s life could not be saved at that time.
He was supposed to spread a rodenticide, which he bought from a friend, in the stairwell of the building. The substance did not have the original manufacturer’s packaging and instructions for safe use of the preparation. According to the court, the man brought an event that threatened the life or health of many people or property in large sizes and was the direct cause of the death of a 14-month-old child.
Christmas Tragedy. The child was hospitalized and died
The tragedy took place in Kamień Pomorski (West Pomeranian Voivodeship) in a building at Moniuszki Street. The services received a report on December 25, 2020 around 1 pm. A 33-year-old man called for an ambulance.
– He complained of abdominal pain, vomiting, general malaise, among other things. Similar ailments affected two other people who stayed with this man, i.e. a 25-year-old woman and a 14-month-old child – said Paulina Targaszewska from the Provincial Ambulance Station in Szczecin.
The woman and child were transported to the hospital.
However, the man refused to be transported to the hospital and remained at the place of the report. The child was conscious and his vital signs were normal. However, it was weakened, irritable, crying – Targaszewska said.
Despite the efforts of doctors, the child’s condition quickly deteriorated. He died in the hospital. As the main cause of death, experts later recognized phosphine poisoning.
They thought it might have been chad. After re-examination, other poisonous substances were detected
Initially, it was suspected that the poisoning was caused by carbon monoxide. However, firefighters did not detect him in the building. Only after a few hours, at the request of the police, tests for the presence of other poisonous substances were repeated, and then the presence of hydrogen sulfide and sulfur dioxide in life-threatening concentrations was detected.
SEE THE MATERIAL OF “FACTS” TVN: A 14-month-old child died, had symptoms of poisoning. The tenants point to rat poison
The source of these substances and the phosphine found in the child’s body was supposed to be rat poison spread in the building.
Main photo source: TVN24