A Japanese scientist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison is facing felony charges after allegedly admitting to an April poisoning attempt on a colleague in the school’s Influenza Research Institute (IRI), according to court documents obtained by Wisconsin Public Radio (WPR).
Investigators said 41-year-old Makoto Kuroda felt slighted after his friend received a promotion, and Kuroda felt he started treating him differently. It ended with Kuroda allegedly tainting his former friend’s water bottle with numerous toxic chemicals and handing his co-worker a note that said “I did it” in Japanese.
Kuroda admitted to using chloroform, paraformaldehyde (PFA), and Trizol to poison his co-worker’s water bottle and shoes, according to a Dane County Court criminal complaint.
A research scientist for IRI, Kuroda had published multiple papers on the Ebola virus and SARS CoV-2, better known as COVID-19. In his position, he handled and had access to a wide variety of toxic chemicals.
