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Vicky Calder ( The Professor David Lloyd Poisoning Case)
Two attempted murder trials
Molecular biologist Doctor Vicky Calder was arrested in June 1994 and later stood trial twice for attempted murder, or alternatively, poisoning with intent. The first jury was unable to reach a verdict, the second found her not guilty.
The victim was Calder’s former partner Professor David Lloyd who was either poisoned or was afflicted with a paralysing illness, The weapon the Crown alleged was used by Calder was acrylamide poison, a substance which few people had any in-depth knowledge of. Most of the evidence presented at her trials was of a scientific nature and both the first and second juries, like the rest of New Zealand, were perplexed at its complexity.
The case is canvassed in depth in John Goulter’s book No Verdict - New Zealand’s Hung Jury Crisis which is used extensively in this case summary.
The case was on the front pages of New Zealand’s newspapers and filled the TV screens and radio programmes. It had all the ingredients of a crime novel – a woman scorned, charged with attempting to murder her lover with a mysterious poison after he had left her for another woman. All across New Zealand people talked about acrylamide poisoning and debated whether Calder was innocent or guilty. Most would have been baffled as they followed media coverage of the trials.
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Molecular biologist Doctor Vicky Calder was arrested in June 1994 and later stood trial twice for attempted murder, or alternatively, poisoning with intent. The first jury was unable to reach a verdict, the second found her not guilty. |
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