IL IL - Urooj Khan, 46, Chicago, 20 July 2012

[Paulette]

If he woke up screaming in pain that would mean he was poisoned as he slept. Cyanide acts quickly - not hours after dinner.

 

[jjenny]

The idea that he woke up screaming comes from daily mail. I am not sure how accurate that is.

 

[wfgodot]

Actually, the Chicago Tribune first reported the "woke up screaming" bit based on police documents. Later AP picked it up.

 

[jjenny]

Actually, the Chicago Tribune first reported the "woke up screaming" bit based on police documents. Later AP picked it up.

But who would be telling police that information? Obviously not the deceased, but whoever else was in the home at the time.
I also want to point out how amazed I am at his death originally decided to be due to hardening of the arteries-without an autopsy being done. The mind boggles.

 

[wfgodot]

But who would be telling police that information? Obviously not the deceased, but whoever else was in the home at the time.

Not sure. Trib article is a pay site. It might go into detail more.

 

[jjenny]

Not sure. Trib article is a pay site. It might go into detail more.

Rather obviously, the original investigation was shoddy-since they decided his death was due to natural causes.

 

[wfgodot]

Rather obviously, the original investigation was shoddy-since they decided his death was due to natural causes.

Yes, if I ever wake up screaming, I'm hoping the ME investigates the thing a little more. I'd say obviously he was told something that smoothed that over.

 

[jjenny]

Yes, if I ever wake up screaming, I'm hoping the ME investigates the thing a little more. I'd say obviously he was told something that smoothed that over.

Especially after winning a large sum of money. That didn't raise any suspicions?

 

[wfgodot]

Especially after winning a large sum of money. That didn't raise any suspicions?

ME may have never known it. Almost sure it wasn't volunteered.

Sure looks bad for the missus. Appears to have had motive and opportunity, and the means in this case is something not hard to come by. Hoping it wasn't her, somehow.

 

[jjenny]

The fact that he won a large amount of money was in the news.
Police couldn't figure that out?

 

[jjenny]

This article has some interesting details. They had a curry dinner cooked by the wife. He was sitting in the chair when he died, supposedly several hours after dinner. Does cyanide always act quickly, or does it depend on what form it's in and the dose?


"Ansari said the family, which includes a teenage daughter and Ansari’s father, ate the curry dinner July 19 in their West Pratt home without incident. It was only later, in the middle of the night, when Khan began to feel ill, Ansari said. Instead of lying in bed, he was sitting in a chair, Ansari said."
http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/...y-winner-hopes-god-will-reveal-the-truth.html

 

[jjenny]

Found this about hydrogen cyanide (keeping in mind that we don't know what form of cyanide killed him):but the timeline depends on the dose.
So it wouldn't be accurate to claim that death had to occur very fast. By the way this story could have come right out of Agatha Christie novel.

"Relationship between concentration and effects when inhaling hydrogen cyanide

Concentration (mg/m3) Effect
300 Immediately lethal
200 Lethal after 10 minutes
150 Lethal after 30 minutes
120-150 Highly dangerous (fatal) after 30-60 min.
50-60 Endurable for 20 min. - 1 h without effect
20-40 Light symptoms after several hours"

Source: A FOA Briefing Book on Chemical Weapons
http://www.opcw.org/about-chemical-weapons/types-of-chemical-agent/blood-agents/hydrogen-cyanide/

 

[fran]

In a regular every-day autopsy, they don't test for the presence of drugs or chemicals, unless they know specifically what they're looking for. Cyanide fits under this category.

I don't know who called LE, but it was a family member of some sort. Someone suspected another family member of wishing harm upon the victim............. OR, they're setting a family member up so THEY can get what estate the victim left behind. :what:

This could take some time to resolve.

JMHO
fran

 

[jjenny]

They didn't do any autopsy on him. The body wasn't opened. How could they have possibly decided he died of hardening arteries when they didn't even do an autopsy? They are going to exhume his body now to actually carry out an autopsy. Which they wouldn't have to do if they did one in a first place.

 

[fran]

Ahh, I didn't realize they hadn't done an autopsy.

I know in California, they don't do an autopsy if the person had seen a doctor within a specified time, not sure maybe a week? and the doctor is willing to sign the certificate as to cause of death. But normal procedure IF a doctor wasn't present at the TOD, they do an autopsy, even if they die, say, in a fire.

Unfortunately, I know this from experience, both scenarios.

fran

 

[SuziQ]

The widow of a Chicago lottery winner who died of cyanide poisoning as he awaited a $425,000 check says she cannot believe her husband could have had enemies and that she has no idea who in their family asked that authorities take the deeper look into what originally was believed to be a death by natural causes.

More
http://www.ksl.com/?nid=157&sid=23673239&title=lottery-winners-widow-didnt-alert-authorities

 

[gngr~snap]

http://articles.timesofindia.indiat...abad/27206031_1_cyanide-deadly-chemical-shops
Cyanide.
IN 2003 it could be bought in India from the store/off
the street in a market...

 

[~n/t~]

She would not talk about the circumstances of her husband's death, saying it was too painful to recall. She said only that he fell ill shortly after they had dinner together.

How quickly do symptoms of cyanide poisoining occur? He fell ill shortly after dinner.

http://www.montrealgazette.com/news...+poisoned+says+doesnt+know/7794006/story.html

 

[Mira]

from http://asylumeclectica.com/grim/) WARNING: THIS IS GROSS!!!

Historically, most murderers have tended to avoid cyanide – the poison left a too-obvious trail of evidence. The resulting corpse would be a textbook study in violent death, marked by bruising discoloration, twisted by the last convulsions, often eerily scented with cyanide’s characteristic warning perfume, a faint, fruity scent of almonds. (Researchers would later find that a fair number of people carry a genetic mutation that keeps them from smelling cyanide.)

It was more popular as a suicide choice due to its reputation for acting quickly. As Gettler wrote, “The symptoms of acute poisoning proceed with almost lightning-like rapidity. Within two to five minutes after ingestion of the poison, the individual collapses, frequently with a loud scream (death scream).” In lesser amounts the poison kills more slowly, if faster than most other toxic substances. The average survival after swallowing cyanide is between fifteen and forty-five minutes. Fast or slow, it is never a kind ending. The last minutes of a cyanide death are brutal, marked by convulsions, a desperate gasping for air, a rising bloody froth of vomit and saliva, and finally a blessed release into unconsciousness.

Culled from: The Poisoner’s Handbook
(from http://asylumeclectica.com/grim/ )

 

[~n/t~]

They have a 17 year old daughter. Wonder if she's the family member who may have had suspicion and alerted authorities. Why wouldn't the wife know who did, kwim? Maybe the daughter told authorities not to say anything to mom.

Gosh this is such a mystery. Obviously it is someone very close to the deceased, imo!