Berkeley-educated engineer gets probation after being caught on camera trying to poison co-worker
A Berkeley-educated engineer has been sentenced to probation after he was caught on camera trying to fatally poison a co-worker over two years, according to a report.
Married father David Xu was charged with attempted murder in 2019 for repeatedly lacing his colleague’s water bottle with cadmium over his imagined professional jealousies.
The toxic cocktail was so debilitating that the victim thought she was suffering from late-stage terminal cancer — and even suffered a heart attack at one point, the Berkeley Scanner reported.
Luckily, however, the woman survived.
She began experiencing symptoms in 2017, and would sporadically endure painful episodes. The victim was tested for food and other allergies, all of which came back negative.
All the while, Xu expressed sympathy for her plight and suggested that she undergo other medical tests to discover the root cause, according to the Scanner.
At one point, the victim gave her mother water from her tainted water bottle to make porridge — and both of her parents suddenly fell ill.
Suspecting that the water was being poisoned, she set up a hidden camera at her Berkeley engineering firm. She was stunned to discover two occasions where the “highly intelligent” Xu was fiddling with the bottle at her desk.
She handed the liquid over to authorities, who later discovered high levels of cadmium, a poisonous heavy metal.
Xu was initially hit with attempted murder raps and held on $2 million after his arrest, but bonded out of jail after a little more than a week, the Scanner reported.
He was released on house arrest and fitted with an ankle monitor at one point to track his movement.
The case languished in court for several years, until the more severe charges were dropped and he was convicted of poisoning as part of a September 2023 plea deal.
According to court records, Alameda County DA Pamela Price signed off on a sentence that will allow him not to avoid prison by serving probation.
The victim in the case, who has not been named, told the court that she continues to suffer from the poisonings and has lost nearly a half million dollars in income because of them.
She also said she was concerned that Xu would repeat his crime in the future.
“I have concerns that the criminal may use his expertise in chemical engineering and fire investigation to commit future crimes, such as poisoning or arson,” she wrote, the Scanner reported.
The crime is one of several recent poisoning cases caught on tape.
In Florida, chemistry student Xuming Li injected toxins underneath the door of a neighboring family in 2022 amid a noise dispute at their apartment complex.
Umar Abdullah set up a camera outside his Tampa apartment that caught Li in the act. The scientist was arrested and later deported back to his native China last December.
California dermatologist Yue “Emily” Yu pleaded not guilty to poisoning her husband last year after he caught her on camera pouring Drano into his tea in 2022.
The mother of two was indicted on three felony counts of poisoning and one felony count of domestic battery with corporal injury.
Prosecutors allege that Yu spiked husband’s lemonade tea while they were locked in a bitter divorce.
The sickened spouse noticed an odd taste in his drink and decided to set up a remote camera system in their home that caught her dumping in the Draino for three straight days.
Yu’s case is pending.
