trendsetter
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There has been speculation in the press that this man died from strychnine poisoning. Now, strychnine is a peculiar drug and at one time it was used by main-stream medics therapeutically as a stimulant or 'nerve-tonic'; it's been used by athletes as a 'performance enhancer' and as such is still a banned substance by sporting authorities. It's used by herbalists as a 'natural' medication known as Nux Vomica to treat all sorts of maladies but is most commonly used as a poison to kill rats and other small mammals. Its affects are particularly unpleasant - it does not cause unconsciousness but instead the victim remains fully conscious while the body is subject to many repeated muscular spasms resulting in painful contortions until the heart and lungs finally fail and death finally ends the suffering - horrible, most horrible! It ought to go without saying that if you were to choose how to die strychnine wouldn't even figure on your list.
Toxicology tests showed that the man's tissues had traces of strychnine and another drug which has been described as a anti-hypertensive drug When a chemist talks about 'traces' they usually mean that there is enough of the substance to detect but not enough to quantitatively assay (i.e. say how much is present or its concentration); if that's the case here then it's unlikely that we're dealing with poisoning simply because there isn't going to be a fatal amount in the body. And what about the other drug? I have found only one source which identifies this - said to be reserpine.
Reserpine is a somewhat uncommon drug not now routinely prescribed.
I can understand why people have latched on to the strychnine and decided that he must have been poisoned but equally he could have died from an overdose of reserpine but no-one has suggested that.
Why did he have traces of these unusual substances in his body anyway? Strychnine isn't available for purchase in the UK for any reason, so it must almost certainly be from a foreign source (there is the slim possibility it had been kept from way back when had been available).
The man was said to have been carrying an empty container marked 'Thyroxine' - a drug to treat the effects of an underactive thyroid (symptoms include tiredness, feeling run-down, etc); I suggest that this may have contained a counterfeit version of this drug that had been imported either by the victim or possibly an 'alternative therapist'. I suggest that this counterfeit contained a mixture of strychnine and reserpine. Counterfeit drugs are usually either totally inert, repackaged veterinary preparations or simply contain cheaper substances that in some ways have similar effects to the drug named on the label. Strychnine would certainly counteract some of the symptoms of hypothyroidism and (where available) is easily and cheaply procurable as a rodenticide and so is possible ingredient. As strychnine causes an increase in blood pressure the presence of reserpine would help to counteract this undesirable effect. Needless to say this preparation is an inappropriate and ineffective treatment for hypothyroidism; it is also highly dangerous.
Unfortunately, as I have said, the container was empty when found so there is nothing left to test but press reports say that traces of strychnine were found inside. We will have to wait until the inquest to learn exactly what amounts of these substances were present in the man's body and whether they really were related to his death.
I suspect he intended to make a round trip in a day; as he didn't take any luggage he would be unlikely to be planning an overnight stay. Why he wanted to make the trip in the first place is a mystery that won't be solved until he is identified, I'm sure. He must have started off with maybe £250 in cash; this would be enough to cover his train fares (£90.80) plus food and any contingencies. He bought a return train ticket at Euston and travelled to Greenfield but by the time he arrived it was getting late - he was running out of time and was therefore anxious to make his way up the hill without delay. Maybe before he started he took one of his 'Thyroxine' tablets to give himself a bit more energy. Maybe he hadn't had much food (there were no receipts found on the body) during his journey; but he was said to have purchased a sandwich. The weather was bad - it was raining and the wind was said to be strong - night was coming on and it was December. Furthermore, he wasn't dressed appropriately for the climb - he was warmly dressed but his clothes were not waterproof. Getting wet will increase one's chances of getting hypothermia several fold - sufferers will become disorientated and confused; very often they make poor decisions - they will fail to comprehend their predicament and have even been known to remove some clothing in the mistaken belief that they are overheating. They will feel tired and fatigued and will have the strong urge to 'hunker down' or to have a rest and continue their journey later; the 'rest' then becomes sleep and then unconsciousness. Is this what happened here; did he become confused, take the rest of his 'energy pills' to give him the strength to carry on but feeling exhausted lie down to sleep? The reported disposition of the body (supine with legs together and arms at the sides) suggests a sleeping position and unlikely to be the result of paroxysmal muscular spasms that strychnine would have caused. So, did he just die of the cold?
Toxicology tests showed that the man's tissues had traces of strychnine and another drug which has been described as a anti-hypertensive drug When a chemist talks about 'traces' they usually mean that there is enough of the substance to detect but not enough to quantitatively assay (i.e. say how much is present or its concentration); if that's the case here then it's unlikely that we're dealing with poisoning simply because there isn't going to be a fatal amount in the body. And what about the other drug? I have found only one source which identifies this - said to be reserpine.
Reserpine is a somewhat uncommon drug not now routinely prescribed.
I can understand why people have latched on to the strychnine and decided that he must have been poisoned but equally he could have died from an overdose of reserpine but no-one has suggested that.
Why did he have traces of these unusual substances in his body anyway? Strychnine isn't available for purchase in the UK for any reason, so it must almost certainly be from a foreign source (there is the slim possibility it had been kept from way back when had been available).
The man was said to have been carrying an empty container marked 'Thyroxine' - a drug to treat the effects of an underactive thyroid (symptoms include tiredness, feeling run-down, etc); I suggest that this may have contained a counterfeit version of this drug that had been imported either by the victim or possibly an 'alternative therapist'. I suggest that this counterfeit contained a mixture of strychnine and reserpine. Counterfeit drugs are usually either totally inert, repackaged veterinary preparations or simply contain cheaper substances that in some ways have similar effects to the drug named on the label. Strychnine would certainly counteract some of the symptoms of hypothyroidism and (where available) is easily and cheaply procurable as a rodenticide and so is possible ingredient. As strychnine causes an increase in blood pressure the presence of reserpine would help to counteract this undesirable effect. Needless to say this preparation is an inappropriate and ineffective treatment for hypothyroidism; it is also highly dangerous.
Unfortunately, as I have said, the container was empty when found so there is nothing left to test but press reports say that traces of strychnine were found inside. We will have to wait until the inquest to learn exactly what amounts of these substances were present in the man's body and whether they really were related to his death.
I suspect he intended to make a round trip in a day; as he didn't take any luggage he would be unlikely to be planning an overnight stay. Why he wanted to make the trip in the first place is a mystery that won't be solved until he is identified, I'm sure. He must have started off with maybe £250 in cash; this would be enough to cover his train fares (£90.80) plus food and any contingencies. He bought a return train ticket at Euston and travelled to Greenfield but by the time he arrived it was getting late - he was running out of time and was therefore anxious to make his way up the hill without delay. Maybe before he started he took one of his 'Thyroxine' tablets to give himself a bit more energy. Maybe he hadn't had much food (there were no receipts found on the body) during his journey; but he was said to have purchased a sandwich. The weather was bad - it was raining and the wind was said to be strong - night was coming on and it was December. Furthermore, he wasn't dressed appropriately for the climb - he was warmly dressed but his clothes were not waterproof. Getting wet will increase one's chances of getting hypothermia several fold - sufferers will become disorientated and confused; very often they make poor decisions - they will fail to comprehend their predicament and have even been known to remove some clothing in the mistaken belief that they are overheating. They will feel tired and fatigued and will have the strong urge to 'hunker down' or to have a rest and continue their journey later; the 'rest' then becomes sleep and then unconsciousness. Is this what happened here; did he become confused, take the rest of his 'energy pills' to give him the strength to carry on but feeling exhausted lie down to sleep? The reported disposition of the body (supine with legs together and arms at the sides) suggests a sleeping position and unlikely to be the result of paroxysmal muscular spasms that strychnine would have caused. So, did he just die of the cold?
