Australian woman is charged after allegedly lacing her partner's workplace curry with toxic snail pellets

A 43-year-old Perth woman has been charged with endangering life after allegedly lacing a colleague's homemade curry with snail poison at their Oldbury workplace in February. The victim — a 58-year-old woman who was also in a personal relationship with the accused — had brought the dish to share with colleagues. When she came back to eat the leftovers at lunchtime, she spotted vivid green granules in the food and felt her tongue go numb after tasting it. Western Australia's Police Commissioner Col Blanch warned that the poison is capable of causing serious injury or death.

Between morning tea and lunch, the accused allegedly went to a chemical storage shed before returning to the staffroom where the leftover curry had been left.

After the victim handed the food to police, detectives determined that the granules were snail pellets containing metaldehyde, a pesticide used to kill slugs and snails.

The woman, arrested on October 8 in Golden Bay, is due to appear at Armadale Magistrates Court on November 5 facing one count of unlawful act with intent to harm.