Rat poison found on elderly man's tray

From: The Tennessean, TN - 30 Jan 2003

Metro police are investigating whether an 88-year-old nursing home resident might have been poisoned after rat poison was found on his food tray.

The man, who is blind, deaf and mute, was not harmed, but investigators want to know how an open packet of the poison got on his tray.

An official at Crestview Nursing Home on 25th Avenue North called police at midday Tuesday to report the possible poisoning, Metro police spokesman Don Aaron said.

An employee at the nursing home found the poison packet on the man's food tray about 6 p.m. Monday, Aaron said. The nursing home resident was not identified.

''The package of rat poison had been opened and is now in the custody of the police department,'' Aaron said. The contents of the package were mostly intact, he said, but the man may have ingested some of the poison.

''We were told that the nursing home took steps to treat him on the chance that he did ingest some of it,'' Aaron said.

Police notified the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, and Metro Homicide is investigating the case.

''How the rat poison got there, why it was there and who put it there are all undetermined,'' Aaron said.

— Sheila Burke

© Copyright 2003 The Tennessean