NOVICHOK 'MURDER'
Amesbury Novichok victim Dawn Sturgess dies in hospital as police launch murder investigation
THE mum-of-three who was poisoned by a deadly Russian nerve agent died in hospital last night.
Dawn Sturgess, 44, died in Salisbury District Hospital on Sunday night - just eight days after she and her partner Charlie Rowley collapsed at an address in Amesbury, Wiltshire.
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According to, doctors have now warned the family of Mr Rowley he has just days to live.
Speaking just hours after Ms Sturgess died, her mother Caroline told the : "It's not looking good for Charlie either. Maybe a few days. He won't pull out of this either. He's just alive with the machines."
Although police did not reveal the mum's cause of death, it is thought she suffered heart failure.
A family member said: "Dawn died before 10 o'clock tonight. Her body just shut down. With her drink and drug addiction, her body wasn't strong enough to deal with this."
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Dawn, who lived in John Baker House, a homeless hostel in Salisbury, was seen buying alcohol from her local cornershop just hours before she fell ill on June 30.
Police suspect the pair may have found a vial or syringe used to transport the toxin used in the attack on ex-Russian spy Sergei Skripal and daughter Yulia in Salisbury in March.
Police have now launched a murder investigation into Dawn's death.
Prime Minister Theresa May said: "I am appalled and shocked by the death of Dawn Sturgess, and my thoughts and condolences go to her family and loved ones.
What we know so far...
- Dawn Sturgess, 44, died on Sunday night after exposure to Russian nerve agent Novichok
- Sturgess and partner Charlie Rowley, 45, were rushed to Salisbury District Hospital after collapsing in Amesbury on June 30
- They are believed to have handled a contaminated substance in Salisbury on June 29
- Rowley remains in a critical condition in hospital
- Police have launched a murder probe into Sturgess’ death, months after ex-spy Sergei Skripal and Yulia Skripal were targeted with Novichok in the same city
- PM Theresa May said she was ‘appalled and shocked’ by the news
- Home Sec Sajid Javid is ‘determined to bring the killers to justice’
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Investigators in hazmat suits enter home of Novichok victim Dawn Sturgess in Salisbury
"Police and security officials are working urgently to establish the facts...now being investigated as a murder."
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn added that his "thoughts were with her family and friends at this terrible time".
Home Secretary Sajid Javid said the "desperately sad news" would strengthen their resolve to find out what has happened - and that they were “determined to bring the killers to justice”.
Over the past week officers have been desperately hunting for the deadly vial that Sturgess and Rowley, 45, are believed to have picked up in Salisbury on June 29.
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Timeline - the victims' last movements before falling ill...
Friday, June 29
- At around 12.20pm Charlie Rowley and Dawn Strugess are together at John Baker House in Salisbury.
- They then leave that venue and visit a number of shops in Salisbury before going to Queen Elizabeth Gardens.
- They return to John Baker House at around 4.20pm before catching a bus to Amesbury at approximately 10.30pm.
- The couple are then believed to have spent the night at an address on Muggleton Road, Amesbury.
Saturday, June 30
- At 10.15am, the South West Ambulance Service are called to an address on Muggleton Road, where Sturgess had been taken ill, and she was subsequently taken to hospital. Rowley was also present at the address at this time.
- At around midday, Rowley visits Boots the chemist on Stonehenge Walk in Amesbury and then returns to his address in Muggleton Road around half an hour later.
- At around 1.45pm Rowley visits the Amesbury Baptist Centre on Butterfield Drive and again returns home at around 3pm.
- At 6.20pm the South West Ambulance Service are called back to the address on Muggleton Road and Rowley is also taken to hospital.
Counter Terrorism are leading an investigation into the poisonings - just months after ex-spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were targeted by Novichok in the same city.
Angus Macpherson, Wiltshire police and crime commissioner, said: "Ms Sturgess was an innocent member of the public who should have been able to go about her daily life without becoming an unwilling victim in such an unprecedented, international, incident.
"I am horrified and appalled that an illegal and lethal nerve agent has been used on the streets of our county.
"Ms Sturgess was an innocent member of the public who should have been able to go about her daily life without becoming an unwilling victim in such an unprecedented, international, incident."
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Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu, the head of UK Counter Terrorism policing said: "This is shocking and tragic news.
"Dawn leaves behind her family, including three children, and our thoughts and prayers are with them at this extremely difficult time.
"This terrible news has only served to strengthen our resolve to identify and bring to justice the person or persons responsible for what I can only describe as an outrageous, reckless and barbaric act.
"Dawn's family has asked the media to kindly respect their privacy at this difficult time."
The South West Ambulance Service was called to a residential address in Amesbury last Saturday at 10.15am, where Ms Sturgess collapsed, and she was rushed to hospital.
HOW NERVE AGENTS AFFECT THE BODY
Nerve agents are highly volatile, dangerous chemicals that cause death within minutes.
Those exposed to nerve agents like Novichok or sarin gas likely breathed contaminated air, ate contaminated food, drank contaminated water or touched a contaminated surface.
They may experience symptoms within seconds.
In other cases it may take hours for symptoms to appear.
Those who have been exposed to nerve agents may experience:
- runny nose
- watery eyes
- small pupils
- eye pain
- blurred vision
- drooling and excessive sweating
- a cough
- tightness in the chest
- rapid breathing
- diarrhoea
- nausea and vomiting
- weeing more often
- confusion
- drowsiness
- weakness
- headache
- slow or fast heart rate
- low or high blood pressure
Exposure to larger amounts of nerve agents can have much more harmful, if not fatal, effects.
People may experience:
- loss of consciousness
- convulsions
- paralysis
- respiratory failure leading to death
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At around 3.30pm on the same day the ambulance service was called back to the same address after Rowley was also taken ill.
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The Defence Science and Technology Laboratory at Porton Down confirmed to police that the couple had both been exposed to Novichok.
Further tests of samples from Dawn and the man showed that they were exposed to the nerve agent after touching a contaminated item with their hands, but the source has not yet been established.
Police said there was no evidence that they visited any of the sites that were decontaminated following the attempted murders of Sergei and Yulia Skripal in March this year.
Skripal poisoning - a breakthrough?
Police are reportedly honing in on their biggest breakthrough yet into the attempted murder of Sergei and Yulia Skripal.
Officers are said to be hoping to get key clues from the container that is thought to have killed Dawn Sturgess and poisoned Charlie Rowley.
A senior security source told the Mirror it could ‘reveal the delivery system of the Novichok, how it was administered to the door of the Skripals, how it was made active and crucially its chemical breakdown – which will tell police where exactly it came from’.
The source added: ‘It is possible the intelligence operatives who did this, and I believe they are Russian, triggered the substance in some way, mixing it up or destabilising it, where these two people found the item.
‘The discovery of this item, possibly a syringe, serves to keep the story public, projecting Russian power, while they deny it.
‘And look at the timing, just as England plays in the World Cup in Russia and President Trump is days away from making his trip to the UK.
‘In the Kremlin mind this is still a huge breakthrough – plausible deniability while everyone suspects Russia of pulling a fast one over MI5.’
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Police said that the investigation into the attempted murders of the Skripals was ongoing as detectives continue to assess available evidence.
A post mortem will be scheduled to establish the exact cause of death in due course.
Staff at Salisbury District Hospital said they “did everything they could” to save Dawn.
Anyone with any information that could assist with this investigation should contact the police by calling 0800 789 321.
Police confirm Charlie Rowley and Dawn Sturgess, found unconscious in Amesbury, Wiltshire have been exposed to the nerve agent Novichok
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