Domestic partners ‘increasingly likely’ to use poison to harm, kill partners, DHS says

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is warning law enforcement agencies across the U.S. about an uptick in people using poisons, such as cyanide, to kill or harm their domestic partners.

There were 17 documented instances of people using chemical or biological toxins against their partners between 2014 and 2025, resulting in at least 11 deaths, according to a January bulletin prepared by DHS’s Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office.

More than half of those incidents occurred in the past five years, the data showed.
The most common substances used were antifreeze, eye drops, fentanyl and various other poisons such as cyanide, thallium and colchicine, which the DHS said are often chosen “for their ability to mimic natural illnesses, complicating detection and investigation.”

“Incidents using chemical or biological toxins to harm or kill are driven by several factors including accessibility of online information, ease of obtaining certain chemicals, and perceived difficulty in detection,” the bulletin stated.

The agency specifically pointed to the case of Colorado dentist James Craig, who was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole last July after being convicted of killing his wife.

Prosecutors said Craig secretly laced his wife’s protein shakes with poison over 10 days in the spring of 2023, before ultimately giving her a lethal dose of cyanide when she was in the hospital being treated for symptoms.

“While this case is a recent illustration, similar incidents involving the use of toxic substances in domestic settings have been reported in other states, highlighting the persistent risk to public safety and the challenges faced by first responders,” the bulletin stated.

The earliest incident reported in the DHS bulletin was a 2014 case involving a Wisconsin woman who attempted to poison her neighbors by putting ricin, a highly potent toxin made from the waste of castor beans, around their home while they were on vacation.

The plot was not uncovered until 2021, when local authorities found evidence linking the woman, Kore Bommeli Adams, to the crime while conducting a separate homicide investigation in Oklahoma.

Adams was convicted of two counts of attempted first-degree intentional homicide and sentenced last August to 25 years in prison in the attempted poisoning case, according to WKOW.

The bulletin further warned that exposure to toxins in homes and public spaces could contaminate the air, surfaces and water, leading to “unpredictable spread” that affects individuals who were not the intended target.

DHS said the need for specialized training and equipment among first responders may increase if the trend continues.

“The recurring use of these toxins by domestic partners highlights the need for more awareness, regulation, and forensic expertise to address this trend in domestic partner violence,” the bulletin concluded.