Woman 'laced her girlfriend's curry with poison snail pellets at office where they worked'

Published: 10:21 BST, 16 October 2026 | Updated: 10:30 BST, 16 October 2026

An Australian woman has been charged after allegedly poisoning her girlfriend's curry with snail pellets at the office where they both worked. 

The 43-year-old is accused of slipping the pellets into her partner's lunch after allegedly breaking into a chemical storage shed.  

Western Australian police say the alleged victim, 58, had brought a container of curry to share with her colleagues at her workplace in southern Perth in February. 

Staff ate the dish during a morning tea break without any apparent problems, police say. 

But when the woman returned to the staff kitchen at lunchtime to eat the leftovers, she noticed someone had tampered with the food after seeing green granules mixed into the dish. 

Upon tasting the curry, the woman's tongue went numb. She kept the food and reported it to the police. 

Cops found the pellets contained metaldehyde, a pesticide used to kill slugs and snails. 

Detectives believe the 43-year-old woman had entered a chemical storage shed between the morning break and lunchtime, stolen snail pellets, and mixed them into the curry. 

An Australian woman has been charged after allegedly poisoning her girlfriend's curry with snail pellets. (File image)

The blue pellets were found to contain metaldehyde, a pesticide used to kill slugs and snails. (File image)

Police said in a statement: 'The curry had been shared among employees and consumed without issue during a morning tea break.

'After the meal, the accused accessed a chemical storage shed and later entered the staff lunch room where the food was kept. 

'After tasting a small amount, (she) experienced numbness to her tongue.'

The two women are understood to have been in a relationship.  

The 43-year-old was arrested earlier this month and has been charged with one count of endangering the life, health or safety of a person. 

She is due to appear in court in Perth next month.

The alleged poisoning attempt follows the high-profile case of Erin Patterson in Australia, who was jailed for murdering three of her relatives after serving them beef Wellingtons containing poisonous mushrooms in 2023.