Fears Russian tycoon Alexander Perepilichnyy may have poisoned with rare plant | via @Telegraph http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/11614054/Fears-Russian-tycoon-Alexander-Perepilichnyy-may-have-poisoned-with-rare-plant.html
But a pre-inquest hearing on Monday heard that tests carried out by a
leading botanist found traces of a poisonous plant in Mr
Perepilichnyy's stomach.
Bob Moxon Browne QC, representing one
of Mr Perepilichnyy’s life insurers, told the hearing that Professor
Monique Simmonds had found a chemical in the dead man’s stomach that
could only be derived from the highly toxic Gelsemium plant.
The
plant is only found in remote regions of China and is a “known weapon
of assassination by Chinese and Russian contract killers”, he said.
Mr Moxon Browne told the hearing in Woking: “This is a really unusual case where there are causes for serious concern.
"We have a suspect substance in the stomach. That compound is only
found in nature in five forms, all of which are associated with the
highly toxic Gelsemium plant.
"If what she found was a natural
substance, that has to come from a Gelsemium plant, which grows only in
China and would be unlikely to find its way into Mr Perepilichnyy's
stomach.
