University Of Pittsburgh Researcher Accused Of Murdering Wife With Cyanide Poison
Pitt neuroscience researcher Robert Ferrante was arrested in West Virginia on Thursday night, and faces extradition to Pennsylvania where he will be charged with one count of criminal homicide, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
The Post-Gazette reports that an affidavit released Thursday details how Ferrante made an unusual request for one of his lab staffers to purchase cyanide a few days before his wife died. According to the affidavit, Ferrente asked for the "best and purest cyanide he could get" and that the cyanide be paid for on a separate credit card.
"Out of 145 chemicals bought by the lab, the only one purchased not related to a project or grant was the cyanide," according to the Post-Gazette.
ABC reports that authorities said that Ferrante's wife — Autumn Klein — had cyanide in her blood at the time of her death, which Ferrante has been accused of mixing into a creatine drink. Ferrante and Klein "had exchanged text messages about how a creatine regimen could help them conceive their second child," according to ABC.
Their six-year-old daughter is currently in the custody of Klein's parents.
The couple's relationship had been in shambles for months at the time of Klein's death. The Post-Gazette reports that Ferrante had accused his wife of having an affair, and Klein had told friends that she planned on leaving the marriage.
Ferrante was originally in Florida when he learned of his pending arrest, but his attorney says he left the state to turn himself in to Pennsylvania authorities, the Associated Press reports.