A 55-year-old Spanish cook is behind bars
on suspicion of poisoning the food of at least 21 of his coworkers,
possibly resulting in the death of one. His actions paint a perverse
picture of betrayal, meticulously dosed out in secret over many years.
The city of Gijon is a lovely seaside resort in the region of Asturias
in the north of Spain. Famous for its warmth and hospitality, it is a
festive place with a rich history and an equally rich cuisine. Food here
is typically accompanied by some of the local alcoholic cider, known in
Spanish as sidra, and restaurants specializing in Asturian food and
cider are called sidrerias.
Tino Comeron and Chelo Toyos opened
El Lavaderu sidreria 14 years ago. Like many of the sidrerias in the
region, it has imposing stone walls, sturdy wooden beams, large wooden
tables and hefty wooden barrels to store the cider in. It was a
prosperous business that kept growing to meet demand.
In 2004
Tino and Chelo decided they needed an assistant chef. They hired Andres
Avelino, a family acquaintance of Chelo, who had run a bar before and
who owned a tiny store of his own in a neighboring town. 'A very nice
man, always willing to do favors,'
Chelo recently recalled.
Andres also had a friend named Eva who worked in the kitchen at El Lavaderu. “They were old friends, for over 20 years,” waiter Gustavo Vera, 35,
told the El Pais newspaper. His co-worker Benjamin Menendez agreed:
“They went out for a drink, dinner...always together.” Vity Mancha who
worked there for three years as extra help said: “They went on holiday
abroad...together.”
A Mediterranean cruise, Paris, Vienna, Thailand...
In 2006 business was still thriving at El Lavaderu, but something else
began to go wrong. Alberto, the head chef, who had what has been
described as a great relationship with Andres, became mysteriously ill.
His skin reddened, he had trouble breathing, and he had vomiting spells.
He kept getting worse and worse, but no cause could be found. He ended
up taking a leave of absence and returning to his home town. After that,
others began to have similar symptoms: kitchen staff, waiters, the
owners... “We thought it was an allergy,” Chelo said. Almost everyone was ill. Only Andres and Eva seemed unaffected.
The same chronic health problems continued. Then, in May 2011, Andres
and Juan Gil, the chef at the time, were working in the kitchen, when
Juan collapsed to the floor, an apparent victim of a heart attack.
People say Andres appeared distraught and cried his eyes out at the
funeral.
In January 2012, Tino and Chelo sold the restaurant.
Eight months later the new owner, Juan Luis Alfonso, took sick. He
decided all of this was too strange and contacted the police about the
mystery illness he and so many of his staff suffered from. He gave them
the names of 14 people he knew had been affected – later the names of
former employees were added to the list, bringing the total to 21.
He explained that when anyone took time off from work, they stopped
having symptoms. No itching, no dizziness, no vomiting. On sick leave,
vacation, or a few days off, they began to feel as good as new. All were
cured, as if by magic, of the strange disease. When they returned to
work, the symptoms soon returned.
He also told the police that
some of the waiters had become suspicious of the assistant chef. One
thing they all had in common was that Andres prepared a sandwich for
them daily – and they claimed he always made sure they ate it.
As the staff began to connect the dots, they realized that the symptoms
began when they drank anything
alcoholic, whether a sip of cider or mug
of beer. And there was something about the timing, too. It was not
simply when they drank alcohol that they felt ill, but when they drank
it after eating something Andres had given them. The police asked that
they keep an eye on him and make sure that no one, customer or
colleague, ate or drank anything he prepared.
One day a
co-worker spying on Andres saw him take out a little vial of liquid and
pour it into a cup of coffee he was making for someone. Juan Luis
Alfonso provided it to the police for testing. The result left no doubt
that it contained a dangerous substance – calcium cyanamide, a drug used
in the treatment of alcoholism. A clear liquid that has no flavor, this
medication can cause drowsiness, dizziness, vomiting, skin irritation,
tachycardia, hypertension, multiple organ failure and even death.
obtained the medicine from a pharmacy near his place of work. Something he did often and in large quantities, according to the police investigation.
It turned out Andres, who reportedly drank profusely each night, was under treatment for alcoholism. He easily
obtained the medicine from a pharmacy near his place of work. Something he did often and in large quantities, according to the police investigation.
Andres is now in jail awaiting trial on fourteen charges of attempted
homicide. That number is likely to increase. He has been declared sane,
but no one has put forth a motive for his crimes. Maybe it was just for
the pleasure of seeing others suffer.
Each of the victims
considered Andres a friend. He spent time with them, hugged them,
accompanied some of them to the doctor, knew their families, even had
the keys to some of their houses. “A normal fellow” – “affectionate” –
“nice” – “attentive,” are some of the terms used to describe the man
they thought they knew.
One thing is certain, however: almost no
one any longer believes that the cause of Juan Gil's death was natural,
although nothing can be proven since his unsuspecting family had his
body cremated. The one exception to the doubters is Eva, who
seems as immune to the suspicions about her friend as she was to the
strange epidemic that struck those around her. She continues to work in
the restaurant's kitchen, but reportedly refuses to talk about what
happened. People will have to wait until she takes the stand to hear
what she has to say about the relationship between the assistant chef
and the poison, the illness and the death at El Lavaderu.
