A pharmacy worker in the United Kingdom who poisoned her partner for months and used his bank cards while he was in the hospital has been arrested, the BBC reported. 53-year-old Lily Cartier stole the drugs from work so she could slip them into 71-year-old John Sharrard's food and drink. The Kingston Crown Court found her guilty of two counts of administering a poison to cause grievous bodily harm and two counts of fraud. She has been sentenced to seven years in prison.
According to the outlet, Lily Cartier was caught in 2017 when Mr Sharrard's relatives became suspicious about his sudden decline in health. He reportedly started slurring his words and was unable to walk properly. At first, he was referred for medical tests by doctors. The cause of his symptoms was unconfirmed but medics suspected he had Parkinson's disease due to difficulties he was having with muscle spasms and his mental faculties slowing.
However, after collapsing twice, Mr Sharrard's brother raised concerns to Surrey Police that Ms Cartier, who was living with the 71-year-old, may have been poisoning him. Tests then found two different drugs - including one to treat psychosis - in his system. The first was warfarin, an anticoagulant drug that could lead to serious bleeding. A hair sample also found haloperidol, an antipsychotic drug.
The 71-year-old told the doctors that he had not knowingly taken either drug. Following this his brother shared concerns that Ms Cartier had access to drugs through her work.
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Lily Cartier was arrested in November 2017. According to the BBC, haloperidol was found in her handbag and warfarin was found later in her bedside cabinet. During the investigation, officials then found several transactions made on Mr Sharrard's bank cards without his permission while he was in hospital. The transactions included purchases of jewellery and clothes as well as withdrawals totalling more than 6,000 pounds.
Since Ms Cartier's arrest, Mr Sharrard's passed away due to unrelated medical issues.
In a statement, Mr Sharrard's brother said that the 71-year-old had become "incoherent". "This appalling, callous woman put so little value on my brother's life. It is hard to believe that a human being could treat another in this cruel way," he said, as per the publication.
"She was planned and meticulous as she carried out her crimes and showed no remorse for John's suffering when he lay in hospital," said a Surrey Police detective.
