Lakhvinder Cheema
Murder by aconite-laced curry in West London.
Singh, known as "The Curry Killer," added the poison to a leftover curry in Cheema's refrigerator.[1][2] Cheema died within an hour of arriving at hospital after eating the poisoned meal.[2][3]
Quick Facts
- Date of murder
- 27 January 2009
- Location
- Southall, West London
- Perpetrator
- Lakhvir Kaur Singh
- Poison source
- Aconitum ferox plant (bikh poison)
- Toxic alkaloid
- pseudaconitine
- Sentence
- life imprisonment with a 23-year minimum term
Facts from the source article.
Key facts and history
On 27 January 2009, Singh laced a leftover curry in Cheema's refrigerator, knowing he and Choongh would eat it that evening.[2] Cheema had second helpings of the curry, then began vomiting, lost vision, and lost the use of his limbs.[4][5] After his first marriage ended, Cheema and Singh conducted a secret relationship that lasted 16 years.[2][3] Singh warned Cheema that if she discovered him in bed with his new fiancée, she would set his house on fire.[6]
During December 2008, Cheema spent a week in hospital after eating food Singh had cooked; doctors suspected he had been poisoned.[7][3] About one month later, Singh came back from India carrying aconite poison.[7] While speaking to emergency services on a 999 call, Cheema reported that his ex-girlfriend had poisoned him.[8][5]
What the cited sources add
The Guardian report noted that Singh's husband was being treated for cancer abroad and that Cheema had talked her out of divorcing him.[3] Cheema's sister took the couple to hospital in a car before the ambulance arrived.[3] The Independent reported that Singh showed no emotion as she was found guilty of murder.[9][10] The BBC News account described how Cheema's tenant saw him "in a hurry" to change the locks on the evening he was poisoned.[5]
The BBC also reported that hospital staff evacuated Cheema's and Singh's homes, suspecting an airborne or chemical threat.[5] The "Aconitine - Molecule of the Month" article stated that victims of aconite poisoning remain conscious while their organs stop working and they die from asphyxiation.[11]
References
- Wikipedia, "Murder of Lakhvinder Cheema" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Court News UK Video Vaults", Courtnewsuk.co.uk (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Murder of Lakhvinder Cheema" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Curry poisoner Lakhvir Singh found guilty of murder", The Guardian, 10 February 2010 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- "Curry poisoner Lakhvir Singh found guilty of murder", The Guardian, 10 February 2010. facts only, no text reused. theguardian.com
- Wikipedia, "Murder of Lakhvinder Cheema" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Raif, "'Poison curry' murderer sentenced to 23-year minimum", The Independent, 11 February 2010 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Majumdar, "Spurned lover's poisoned curry revenge", BBC News, 10 February 2010. facts only, no text reused. news.bbc.co.uk
- Wikipedia, "Murder of Lakhvinder Cheema" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Curry poisoner Lakhvir Singh found guilty of murder", The Guardian, 10 February 2010; "Curry poisoner Lakhvir Singh found guilty of murder", The Guardian, 10 February 2010 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Murder of Lakhvinder Cheema" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Curry poisoner Lakhvir Singh found guilty of murder", The Guardian, 10 February 2010; Raif, "'Poison curry' murderer sentenced to 23-year minimum", The Independent, 11 February 2010 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Murder of Lakhvinder Cheema" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Majumdar, "Spurned lover's poisoned curry revenge", BBC News, 10 February 2010 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Raif, "'Poison curry' murderer sentenced to 23-year minimum", The Independent. facts only, no text reused. independent.co.uk
- Raif, "'Poison curry' murderer sentenced to 23-year minimum", The Independent, 11 February 2010. facts only, no text reused. independent.co.uk
- "Aconitine - Molecule of the Month October 2014 - HTML-only version", www.chm.bris.ac.uk. facts only, no text reused. chm.bris.ac.uk
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Murder of Lakhvinder Cheema (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
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