A teenage boy has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after his mum poured a glass of milk and went to take a sip. Eduardo Espinal-Ramgewan, 17, was accused of trying to poison the woman after she smelled something strange in her drink.
Police were called to their home on Saturday morning after the unnamed woman, 77, noticed an “unusual odour” in the glass of milk. According to the arrest affidavit, one of the woman’s relatives told deputies he believed Espinal-Ramgewan had purposefully spiked the milk with bleach to harm her.
In the same affidavit, the woman says she believes her adopted son had attempted to poison her “due to their recent conflicts”.
Officers smelled the milk container and noted there was a whiff of bleach. “A search of the residence revealed a Clorox bleach bottle in the laundry room,” the affidavit says. “The bottle was positioned in a dusty area with a clear outline, indicating it had been moved recently.”
Deputies found the teenager in one of the back bedrooms during a search of the property in Volusia County, Florida, and took him into custody. In body-worn camera footage released of the arrest, the woman can be heard saying: “He put the Clorox in the milk.”
Espinal-Ramgewan admitted to pouring bleach into his adoptive mum’s milk container because “he was angry at (her) and no longer wished to live in the home”. He faces charges of attempted murder, poisoning and aggravated abuse of an elderly person.
Bleach poisoning can be severe, even fatal, as the noxious household cleaning product burns through soft tissue in the mouth and throat. It can also irritate and damage the gastrointestinal tract, leading to nausea, vomiting and stomach pain.
If ingested in large enough quantities, bleach can lead to permanent gastrointestinal damage and death. In the UK, the NHS advice is to get the person suspected of ingesting bleach to A&E as quickly as possible, calling an ambulance if necessary, for life-saving treatment.
In 2016, British care home worker Melissa Swift was given a life sentence after spiking water jugs and drinks bottles with bleach in an attempt to poison colleagues and residents. Seven members of staff and 23 elderly residents were taken ill because of her actions, but luckily survived. Swift, who was 25 at the time, admitted three counts of attempted murder and was ordered to serve at least eight years before she was eligible for parole.
And in Spain, a hotel worker was accused of trying to poison tourists by pouring bleach over a buffet dinner. Police and prosecutors said in January this year that the 50-year-old woman acted out of revenge after being told her contract wasn’t being renewed at a Costa del Sol hotel back in 2023.
Two guests alerted one of the waitress’ bosses after seeing her pouring a yellowish liquid over a tray of fruit and yoghurt in a glass dessert display case that had been prepared as part of an evening buffet meal. The unnamed hotel worker subsequently returned to the kitchen pushing a cleaning trolley used to remove dirty plates.
She was charged with a crime against public health and ordered to stand trial after being warned she could be handed a three-year prison sentence if convicted.
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