Perfume bottle of Russian Novichok which killed Brit mum had enough poison to murder THOUSANDS, inquest hears
A BOTTLE of Russian poison that killed a mum-of-three was strong enough to murder thousands, an inquiry has heard.
Dawn Sturgess, 44, was “caught in the crossfire of an illegal and outrageous international assassination attempt” when she died after exposure to the Novichok nerve agent in July 2018.
The homeless hostel resident sprayed the “military-grade” agent on her hands believing it was an unopened bottle of Nina Ricci Premier Jour perfume found by her boyfriend, Charlie Rowley.
New details of her death were revealed at the opening of the Dawn Sturgess Inquiry in her home city of Salisbury, Wilts today.
The Inquiry heard her case was “inextricably linked” to the Kremlin-backed poisoning of suspected intelligence agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in March 2018.
Inquiry counsel Andrew O’Connor KC said: “The circumstances of Dawn Sturgess’s death were extraordinary.
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“Dawn lived a life wholly removed from politics and international relations.
“She was born here in Salisbury and lived in the city. She had three children.”
Displaying photos of the bottle, he went on: “She died an unnatural and wholly unexpected death… poisoned by a military-grade chemical weapon.
“The poison, you will hear, was known as Novichok, a nerve agent said to have been developed by Russian government agencies in the final years of the Cold War.
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“A particularly shocking feature of Dawn’s death is that she unwittingly applied the poison to her own skin.
”She was entirely unaware of the mortal danger she faced, because the highly toxic liquid had been concealed - carefully and deliberately concealed - inside a perfume bottle.
“The evidence will suggest that this bottle, which we shall hear contained enough poison to kill thousands of people, must earlier have been left somewhere in a public place."
He added Inquiry chairman Lord Anthony Hughes would hear “those who discarded the bottle acted with a grotesque disregard for human life”.
The poison triggered Dawn’s heart to fail within minutes, starving her brain of oxygen, the inquiry was told.
She was revived by paramedics but died eight days later in hospital from an unsurvivable brain injury.
Mr Rowley, 51, who was also exposed, fell critically ill but later recovered and will give evidence to the probe.
Doctors and police initially believed she had overdosed on drugs.
The Salisbury poisonings
Charlie Rowley, 45, and Dawn Sturgess, 44, were rushed to Salisbury Hospital after they were found unconscious at a home in nearby Amesbury, Wilts on June 30, 2018.
Scotland Yard later confirmed Dawn Sturgess had died and police launched a murder probe.
Rowley regained consciousness and has since been released from hospital, although he later fell ill again.
On July 11 police recovered a bottle of Novichok from the Amesbury flat.
It is believed the couple picked up a perfume bottle that may have been discarded by the bungling assassins who tried to kill MI6 mole Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in March - almost four months prior.
Dawn may have been exposed to ten times the dose of nerve agent received by the Skripals.
In August 2018, Charlie was rushed to intensive care after going blind - but his illness was not believed to be an effect of Novichok.
In September police revealed names and photos of two Russian men wanted over the attempted hit on the Skripals.
Cops issued a European Arrest Warrant for Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov.
The CPS said there was enough evidence to charge them with conspiracy to murder.
The suspects were caught on CCTV in Salisbury at 11.58am on Sunday, March 4, “moments before the attack”, police said.
The inquiry will also examine whether the government failed to protect the public from the deadly nerve agent and if the bottle of poison should have been found.
Mr O’Connor said: “A question Dawn Sturgess’s family are particularly concerned [about]: had the UK government taken appropriate steps to protect both Sergei Skripal from attack and the wider public from the collateral damage of any such attack?
“Is it possible that mistakes were made in protecting Sergei Skripal that might indirectly have contributed to Dawn Sturgess’s death?"
Members of Russia’s GRU military intelligence squad, Colonel Anatoliy Chepiga, Alexander Mishkin, and Denis Sergeiyev were charged with smearing the nerve agent on Mr Skripal’s door handle.
They had entered Britain using fake names and bogus documents earlier in the year.
The duo later claimed to have been tourists and told Kremlin mouthpiece Russia Today they had visited the city’s Cathedral for its “famous 123-metre spire”.
Russia does not extradite citizens and they will likely never stand trial.
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Neither Mr Skripal, 72, nor his daughter will give oral evidence to the probe, which will last until mid-December.
Ms Sturgess’ mother Caroline will give a “pen portrait” of her daugher and her untimely death tomorrow.
