Poisons Used in Serial Poisoning

Poisons that have been used in serial poisoning are here considered grouped as: Plant poisons (digitalis, atropine/belladonna, aconite, strychnine, morphine, cyanide); Animal poisons; Bacterial poisons (diphtheria, tuberculosis); Drugs as poisons (Heart drugs—digitoxin and digoxin, lidocaine, potassium chloride, epinephrine, ajmaline, amiodarone, sotalol; Muscle relaxant drugs—mivacurium chloride injection, pancuroneum, vecuronium, succinylcholine chloride; Analgesic drugs—pethidine, acetaminophen; Diabetic drugs—insulin, glyburide); Elements, their compounds and derivatives (arsenic, antimony, copper, phosphorus, organic phosphorus compound E605, thallium); and ‘other poisons’ (sodium hypochlorite, anti-freeze, chloroform, calcium cyanamide). For each poison, a serial poisoning case or cases is cited. Finally, the chapter considers decisions about poisons that a serial poisoner may make when planning their crimes.