Police arrested two individuals for allegedly attempting to use rat poison with a homemade, toxic concoction made from an invasive plant on two women he met through dating apps. According to the New York Post, 43-year-old Paul VanDuyne Jr. and 41-year-old Andrea Whitaker from Madison, Wisconsin, both face charges for attempted murder.
Videos by Suggest
VanDuyne, a graduate of Princeton University, was accused of breaking into two women’s cars. He had previously dated them both, and investigators found he used rat poison, cyanide, and a homemade mixture from ground-up rosary peas.
Wisconsin Couple Used Toxic Rosary Peas To Poison Two Previous Tinder Dates
According to Poison Control, rosary peas, officially known as abrus precatorius beans, are considered an invasive species. They’re native to Africa, Asia, Australia, and the Pacific region. The couple likely didn’t just find this plant in their local forest or backyard.
Rosary peas contain a protein called abrin, which is highly toxic to humans. Despite the toxicity, it’s occasionally used in home remedies to treat certain illnesses.
Police specifically found cyanide and thallium in a water bottle inside one of the cars, per WISN. The former mechanical engineer had recently gotten divorced before he tried dating apps. He had short relationships with two women before meeting Whitaker, if you can even call it that.
“Him and I were not in a relationship,” testified one of the victims who wanted to stay anonymous. “I did not wrong him in any way. The truth is I barely knew him and yet, he and his accomplice decided that I should die.”
Whitaker, being a pharmacology student, helped VanDuyne plan a scheme to poison the two women.
Investigators didn’t take long to arrest VanDuyne on Sunday. This was after finding evidence of him placing a trail camera pointed at one of the women’s homes.
Prosecutors also allegedly found a “kill kit” inside the Princeton graduate’s vehicle. The kit included five sealed vials and gloves. According to officials, the poisons involved cyanide and thallium.
The Aftermath Of The Poison
One of the victims has been left crippled by the toxins, NBC News reported. One woman from Rock County is still in a wheelchair due to the poisoning, according to Rock County Sheriff Curtis Fell.
The other victim was from Dane County and was aided by bystanders at the crime. They had witnessed someone breaking into her vehicle on two separate occasions in a Costco parking lot.
This woman reported that after one of the incidents, she drank the horrible-tasting bottled water in her car. It ended up testing positive for cyanide and thallium. Court documents even mentioned that the couple put a powdery substance in the ventilation system of a victim’s car.
VanDuyne and Whitaker are scheduled for a court appearance on Friday. VanDuyne has a cash bail of $10 million, while his female accomplice has a $4 million cash bail.