NEW YORK — Authorities have determined that a New York City boy died last year from poisoning with a rare metal favored by killers, and an investigation into his death revealed that his late grandmother also died of poisoning.
The deaths of Wilhelm Ducatl, 4, and Tofoon Man, 63, are now considered homicides, the New York City medical examiner’s office said Thursday.
On May 24, 2021, police responded to a 911 call from a child with a stomach ache at a home on 65th Street in Brooklyn. He was taken to a local hospital, where he died two days later.
Authorities say their investigation led them to believe he may have been poisoned, and also to have suspicions about the death of his grandmother, who died three months earlier after similar stomach pains.
Her body was exhumed and an examination confirmed that she had also been poisoned.
The Medical Examiner’s Office officially determined on Wednesday that both had died specifically from thallium poisoning. No arrests have been made in connection with the deaths so far.
Thallium is a metal that is not produced in the United States, but is imported primarily for the manufacture of electronic products.
“Thallium has no taste or smell and has been used by killers as a hard-to-detect poison,” the CDC says on a web page dedicated to treating exposure.
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