Robert Curley was a 32 year old man who worked at Wilkes University in Pennsylvania. Robert had married Joann in 1990 and the two had one daughter from Joann’s previous marriage. In August 1991, Robert became sick and was admitted to a hospital in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. For Robert, this was the first in a series of hospital stays. Doctor tried to diagnose his condition, but could not determine what was making Robert sick. Robert was experiencing strange symptoms like burning skin, numbness, weakness, repeated vomiting and rapid hair loss (Ramsland, 2012).
Robert was transferred to Hershey Medical Center (HMC) in September of 1991. Once at HMC, doctors had to restrain Robert due to his increasing agitation and aggressiveness. Robert soon had to be placed on life support. Doctors continued testing and…show more content… Investigators started at Wilkes University, where they interviewed and tested Robert’s coworkers. None of the coworker had elevated thallium levels. Investigators went to the Curley home at 33 Cleveland Street once they had learned Robert’s thermos was the possible source of exposure. Joann insisted on having her thallium levels tested and learned she had over 10 times the normal amount of thallium in her system (Bonnie Adams, 1997).
In August 1994 Robert’s body was exhumed for a second autopsy. Two forensics experts, Michael Baden and Fredrick Reiders, were to perform the autopsy. Baden and Reiders took specific interest in Robert’s hair. Roberts hair was described a shaggy. Baden and Reiders knew hair grows at an approximate rate of one third to one half inch per month. Baden and Reiders also knew hair contains traces of chemicals which had been introduced into the body. With this information, Baden and Reiders theorized they could present a timeline of when Robert had been exposed to the poison (Henson,