SALISBURY poisoning victim Charlie Rowley has revealed his guilt after his girlfriend died when she was exposed to Novichok at his home.

Dawn Sturgess, 45, was killed eight days after the builder unwittingly gave her a perfume bottle containing the deadly chemical.

Charlie, 49, was left critically ill following the horror three months after ex-Soviet spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were found slumped on a bench in Salisbury, Wilts.

He has now revealed his guilt at "soulmate" Dawn's death as he opened up on how the tragedy unfolded.

Charlie told The Mirror: "I was lucky enough to be rehomed a few months after meeting [Dawn].

"With little cash, I furnished the flat with items that would’ve been thrown away. I scoured charity shops and bins, getting electrical equipment and stuff. I found all sorts – gold necklaces, earrings, treasures for Dawn.

"Going through one bin, I found a perfume box. 'Wahey, winner!' I thought. It was sealed in plastic, expensive-looking, so I pocketed it.

"Unwittingly, I’d done something the police hadn’t managed in three months since the Skripal attack – I’d found the Novichok bottle."

Most read in The Sun

Charlie handed the Nina Ricci perfume to Dawn on June 30 and said it was "so tightly closed" he needed a sharp knife to open it.

After attaching the nozzle, Dawn sprayed her wrists while Charlie washed off some of the liquid that got on his hand.

When he returned, she was "staring at nothing and foaming at the mouth" so the builder called a pal who then rang for an ambulance.

Chillingly, Charlie says his own behaviour then changed and he grew paranoid and even tried to strangle his friend.

He said his own mouth started to froth and his eyes turned "milky and red like "something out of a zombie film".

Both were rushed to hospital as police declared a major incident but sadly Dawn passed away later that day.

'CONSUMED BY GRIEF'

Charlie said: "I was in the hospital for three weeks. When I woke up and came off the ventilator a doctor explained that Dawn had died. I couldn’t take it in.

"It hurt too much to remember. I’d lost my girlfriend, my partner, my soulmate.

"Because of nerve damage I couldn’t see properly and had problems with my heart and lungs too. There was talk of a pacemaker. I was terrified, feeling like a guinea pig while they tried to help me.

"While I was consumed by grief and health woes, investigations were ongoing."

Charlie lost all his belongings and was forced to abandon his flat, which was later demolished, because of possible contamination.

He says all he has left of Dawn is a collage of pictures on the wall at home.

'I WANT JUSTICE'

Former Russian agent Skripal, Yulia and a police officer, Nick Bailey, were exposed to the substance in 2018.

Intelligence officers Anatoliy Chepiga and Alexander Mishkin allegedly smeared the nerve agent on Skripal's front door.

In September, police identified a third suspect – senior Russian agent, Denis Sergeev.

Anti-terror cops said he met Chepiga and Mishkin in London in the hours leading up to the attack.

Sergeev’s name was added to Interpol watch lists alongside the other suspects, alerting border forces ordered to detain him should he stray within the reach of UK courts.

None of the trio can be formally charged unless they are arrested and Russia has confirmed it does not extradite its citizens.

Charlie said: "I want justice for Dawn. I want people to be caught, but I don’t expect that to happen.

"I carry a lot of guilt. I literally poisoned my girlfriend. Unknowingly, but I still did it. It’s not a good thing to live with.

Russia has consistently denied any involvement in the Salisbury poisoning.

Source: Read Full Article