Story Archive

Inconspicuous

An unnamed 56-year-old man at ARI Armaturen, a metal fittings company in Schloß Holte Stukenbrock, Germany, has been arrested after allegedly poisoning a co-worker’s lunch. The co-worker was suspicious of white powder on his food, and asked the company to review security camera footage; it showed the suspect putting something on the food, and they called the police. Tests showed the powder was lead acetate, which is highly toxic, and probed further: they found a number of odd deaths of employees at the company over the past 18 years — and two others are in comas, and another had to go on dialysis after his kidneys failed. Detectives say the man is suspected of killing as many as 21 of his co-workers. Supervisors said the suspect has been with the company for 38 years, and described him as “conspicuously inconspicuous.” (RC/Deutsche Welle) ...Maybe that’s the German equivalent to “He was such a quiet man.”