GUILTY PA - Husband charged in cyanide poisoning death of Dr. Autumn Klein

[CuriousGrace]

I actually disagree. She was on life support and a reperfusion machine. When someone is in this state in the hospital an arterial blood gas is done (many of them actually) to check the acid base balance and the above article indicated that her blood was bright red and she was acidotic. Those two things combined alone would tip them off to run tests for poisons such as cyanide. This was a young woman with no history of cardiac problems as far as I am aware?:twocents::twocents:

His downfall was that he was not an MD. He was, however, narcisscistic and thought he knew what they would do in an emergency situation. I am so glad to hear that he was arrested!

I agree with the above, but still, suspicion fell on him from the very beginning. It was not a very well executed murder plan. It was a coward like and at wits end desperate plan especially for someone of his calibre. JMO

 

[time]

This never looks good... instead of doing CPR (as 911 instructs), he calls a friend.

After calling 911, he called a friend and told him what was occurring, according to the affidavit to support the warrant.


Also, Robert Ferrante told police he put his wife on a creatine regimen to help her get pregnant and even mixed the awful-tasting substance in sugary drinks for her or with cinnamon and sugar for her morning toast....

Read more: http://triblive.com/news/allegheny/4442667-74/ferrante-police-klein#ixzz2aVJULsa4
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Why does he have a public defender? Is that just a temporary, interim defense attorney?

A lot of interesting stuff in that article... thank you!

Experts say the muscle-enhancing substance does not aid women's fertility, but the criminal complaint says Ferrante urged her to take it for that purpose.

Tony Gaskew, a professor of criminal justice, said Ferrante's claim of a creatine regimen could help prosecutors.

“It's going to help them with the motivation,” said Gaskew, director of the criminal justice program at the University of Pittsburgh-Bradford. “They're going to see this as another factor he predetermined to use (creatine) as an alibi. It sounds ready-made.”

 

[time]

"They'll probably be a claim that he accidentally mixed up the cyanide with the creatine because they're both white powders and that this is an accidental death."

Yup, sounds about right.

http://www.thv11.com/news/article/273882/288/Professor-waves-extradition-in-cyanide-death-case

 

[True Crime Gal]

Maybe these type of men think that because of their status in the community, no one will suspect them of anything.

Might be a little of that... but more often than not they simply think they're smarter than LE. Ugh. I really feel for her loved ones.

 

[AlwaysShocked]

In the lengthy, detailed charging statement it says that when a central line was being inserted in the ER (one of the first things they would do) the venipuncturist (either a doctor or an R.N.) thought they had accidentally accessed an artery (as opposed to a vein) due to the bright red color of the blood.

THAT, along with the acidotic blood, would have immediately led the treating docs to narrow down the differential diagnoses. And would have also contributed to what testing was ordered. The doctors did a fine job based on their medical knowledge. There are only so many known situations that produce bright red acidotic blood. And yes, someone wrote the word "unlikely" on the request for the test for cyanide. I'd bet whoever wrote that will never write it again under these circumstances!

Perhaps in addition to his basic criminal stupidity, another of Ferrante's problems was that he is not a medical doctor.

Also, I think one of the things I've learned over the years of following crimes is that if someone I know is arrested, DON'T go around giving interviews saying what a sweet person they are and how they could NEVER do anything like this. Better to keep your mouth shut than to be the colleague who is featured on the front page of the local newspaper saying what a great guy Ferrante is and how he always spoke so highly of his wife. Yeah, right. Don't they always?

 

[Storm]

I love TYT's!
Love the "now he has to get in the dating game in prision"
Great post!
^i^

I doubt dating had anything to do with Ferrante's motive or mental state. Is that the line you are referring to? For me, it was not worth it if so!!

 

[Storm]

I just asked my son who is an M.D. (Internist) if he would suspect Cyanide poisoning and he said that it's not the first thing that would come to mind with the bright red blood...and he thought cyanide poisoning had went out of style 100 years ago. I reminded him of the other woman whose husband gave it to her before she drove off in a car...I think this guy may have just as easily got by with this. It is awesome that the Dr. ordered that with the blood test! I do know a lot of Dr's....my son, for instance, has NO sense of direction and can get lost going to work. His mind is always somewhere else. I wouldn't be surprised if showed up to work without socks I have no doubt that some folks would think he was an idiot..especially if he had to change a tire or cook something..anything routine and easy is a huge task for him ^i^

where I disagreed was with the rmedical rationale for the testing (not the reason why this guy would think he could outsmart the system.. I agree there 100%)

obviously if someone tagged it on for testing someone thought outside of the box with the available medical data from her labwork and results.

I am an ICU nurse and I have seen many a professional coworker (beit doctor or nurse) collaborate to check other avenues when the data supports it. I could get into how insurance companies tie our hands a lot but this is not the thread for that hahahaha.

 

[jjenny]

Yup, sounds about right.

http://www.thv11.com/news/article/273882/288/Professor-waves-extradition-in-cyanide-death-case

He can try claim this a defense, but he'd have to explain why he decided to purchase cyanide to begin with, why he wanted it to be shipped overnight, and why he mixed lab supplies for personal consumption. I don't find this "accidental mixing" theory to be believable at all.

 

[time]

He can try claim this a defense, but he'd have to explain why he decided to purchase cyanide to begin with, why he wanted it to be shipped overnight, and why he mixed lab supplies for personal consumption. I don't find this "accidental mixing" theory to be believable at all.

I don't either, but I do wonder if Ferrante will come up with some experiment he will claim he needed the cyanide for? Who knows, maybe he sat and wrote a concept theory to back up having the cyanide! I know it sounds ridiculous but so does drinking creatine in his lab. We may never know but I'm curious if Klein actually bought the theory that creatine would help her get pregnant and, if so, why? Or did she just take it to humor him thinking it couldn't hurt?

 

[jjenny]

I don't either, but I do wonder if Ferrante will come up with some experiment he will claim he needed the cyanide for? Who knows, maybe he sat and wrote a concept theory to back up having the cyanide! I know it sounds ridiculous but so does drinking creatine in his lab. We may never know but I'm curious if Klein actually bought the theory that creatine would help her get pregnant and, if so, why? Or did she just take it to humor him thinking it couldn't hurt?

Who knows if she believed him or not. Maybe she believed him. There is not much information on creatine and pregnancy. He might have convinced her he did experiments on mice and it increased fertility. Or maybe she didn't believe him. She already complained to her male friend that her husband was controlling. Maybe she just took creatine to keep the peace, since he was insisting on it.
Either way, she took it and now she is dead.

As for him doing experiments, he was professor with lab stuff. Why would he even do these supposed experiments personally? His lab staff person didn't know of any experiments they needed this cyanide for.
I imagine creatine and cyanide are in very different containers.
Also cyanide is a controlled substance, so should be stored not on the shelf but locked up. How exactly could he mix them up?

 

[LambChop]

I don't either, but I do wonder if Ferrante will come up with some experiment he will claim he needed the cyanide for? Who knows, maybe he sat and wrote a concept theory to back up having the cyanide! I know it sounds ridiculous but so does drinking creatine in his lab. We may never know but I'm curious if Klein actually bought the theory that creatine would help her get pregnant and, if so, why? Or did she just take it to humor him thinking it couldn't hurt?

So why do we believe she drank creatine? Could he have put it into anything she was use to drinking at night? Since the jug of liquid and the glass she was suppose to have used was right there on the counter I would think it would have been creatine in the jug without the cyanide just in case the EMT grabbed it on their way out. I would think he would want the glass or jug to show it was just creatine if they were to test it. Whatever he gave her the cyanide in was probably long washed up and put away so that traces would not be found within the house. He waited 10 minutes to call 911 guess what he could have been doing while she was dying? jmo

 

[Aristotle]

Actually, they will probably leave it vague..try to insist that RF really had an experiment in mind for the cyanide, and that many people in the lab could have wantonly mixed up the drugs before the cyanide was properly put away. Or mixed it deliberately intending it for someone else. I hope these good lab technicians are totally supported by Pitt. Unfair for them!

 

[Aristotle]

E.g., the affidavit says the cyanide was first put in a drawer..that sounds like an escape clause for him.

 

[jjenny]

Actually, they will probably leave it vague..try to insist that RF really had an experiment in mind for the cyanide, and that many people in the lab could have wantonly mixed up the drugs before the cyanide was properly put away. Or mixed it deliberately intending it for someone else. I hope these good lab technicians are totally supported by Pitt. Unfair for them!

He only had three staff members as I recall. I am sure they are perfectly capable of testifying that they didn't use cyanide for anything. People who work in labs don't just wantonly mix things willy nilly. All those individuals working in labs are trained in biological safety.

 

[time]

So why do we believe she drank creatine? Could he have put it into anything she was use to drinking at night? Since the jug of liquid and the glass she was suppose to have used was right there on the counter I would think it would have been creatine in the jug without the cyanide just in case the EMT grabbed it on their way out. I would think he would want the glass or jug to show it was just creatine if they were to test it. Whatever he gave her the cyanide in was probably long washed up and put away so that traces would not be found within the house. He waited 10 minutes to call 911 guess what he could have been doing while she was dying? jmo

The exchange of text messages indicates they already planned on her taking creatine - unless he somehow faked those. I read it tastes awful.

BBM -Good point.

You know they saw a bottle/vial laying not far from her along with a plastic bag (IIRC). Ferrante told them it was the creatine I think and they never checked it out. I be he chucked it. But he sure was taking a risk if it was right there - although not being a crime scene and no one suspecting murder, I guess it wasn't that big of a risk?

 

[time]

He only had three staff members as I recall. I am sure they are perfectly capable of testifying that they didn't use cyanide for anything. People who work in labs don't just wantonly mix things willy nilly. All those individuals working in labs are trained in biological safety.

I think, in court, they might claim someone else had access. But didn't they say it was locked up and only one other person ad access?

 

[jjenny]

I think, in court, they might claim someone else had access. But didn't they say it was locked up and only one other person ad access?

Even if they claim someone else had access, what motive can his staff members possibly have to kill his wife? Also, cyanide only was there for a very short time.

 

[Storm]

This is where I get hung up. Why would she agree to take creatine? She probably knew more about the trial results than he did. I think she was playing along but I can't figure out why. Was the guy abusive also and she was just doing it to keep peace until she got out? As for wanting another child, I think that she may have been saying that to throw him off and keep him from knowing she was planning on leaving, or maybe she did want to get pregnant again and didn't care if he was the sperm donor. She was planning on leaving regardless, I think. ^i^

I don't either, but I do wonder if Ferrante will come up with some experiment he will claim he needed the cyanide for? Who knows, maybe he sat and wrote a concept theory to back up having the cyanide! I know it sounds ridiculous but so does drinking creatine in his lab. We may never know but I'm curious if Klein actually bought the theory that creatine would help her get pregnant and, if so, why? Or did she just take it to humor him thinking it couldn't hurt?

 

[AlwaysShocked]

From today's late edition of the Post Gazette:

"On Monday, there will be a closed hearing to discuss the order granting custody of the couple's 6-year-old daughter, Cianna, to Klein's parents and a hearing discussing the order freezing financial assets Mr. Ferrante kept in 15 different institutions. Both orders were signed around the time detectives obtained an arrest warrant for Mr. Ferrante.

A preliminary hearing to decide whether there is enough evidence to warrant a trial on one count of homicide is scheduled for Sept. 23.

"We have a lot of work to do," Mr. Difenderfer said. "Obviously he's devastated by losing his wife."

In the interim, Judge Cashman has ordered Mr. Ferrante to be held in the Allegheny County Jail without bond. Mr. Ferrante also will undergo a behavioral evaluation while in jail, which is standard practice in a homicide case.

Assistant district attorney Lisa Pellegrini requested and received an order barring Mr. Ferrante from contacting his daughter, who "is a material witness as well as the maternal grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Klein." Exactly what the young girl saw is unclear.

http://www.post-gazette.com/stories...bond-in-wifes-cyanide-poisoning-death-697441/

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories...cyanide-poisoning-death-697441/#ixzz2aam35qc3

 

[Storm]

From my understanding, only he and anonymous person #9 had access to the cyanide. All persons working in a Lab are professionals and wouldn't mix drugs. If they were "mixed", it was he or #9 and he's the one who had a motive, was using grant money for his personal use etc...He would also have to justify why he was taking lab creatine home..of course, "stealing" a little amount of
creatine is a long way from murder, I'm sure his attorney will say. I can think of no way this man is going to talk his way out of this. ^i^

He only had three staff members as I recall. I am sure they are perfectly capable of testifying that they didn't use cyanide for anything. People who work in labs don't just wantonly mix things willy nilly. All those individuals working in labs are trained in biological safety.