NYPD ‘now believe grandmother, 63, and her grandson, 4, who died three months apart were MURDERED by the mother with tasteless rat poison’ after first blaming natural causes
- Tafoon Man, 63, mysteriously died in February 2021 after visiting her daughter’s Brooklyn, New York home
- Three months later, Man’s grandson, four-year-old Wilhelm Ducatl, also fell suddenly ill and died after being hospitalized in critical condition
- An autopsy revealed that Ducatl had been poisoned with thallium, a tasteless and odorless poison used to rats and other vermin
- Ducatl’s death prompted police to exhume Man’s body and perform a postmortem examination, which also revealed acute thallium poisoning
- Police have not identified a suspect in this case, but note the boy’s father is not the focus of their investigation
- Thallium, which was first discovered in 1861, was banned in the U.S. in 1984 due to its toxicity from even accidental exposure
New York City homicide detectives suspect a Brooklyn grandmother and four-year-old boy who died three months apart were murdered with tasteless rat poison.
Tafoon Man, 63, suddenly fell ill after her daughter’s Bensonhurst home in February 2021 and passed away eight hours after being admitted to the hospital.
Three months later Man’s grandson, Wilhelm Ducatl, 4, also suddenly fell ill while at his mother’s home.
Ducatl had complained ‘he was feeling tired’ before being rushed to a nearby hospital in critical condition with severe stomach pains. He died two days after having fallen sick.
After the medical examiner who conducted Ducatl’s autopsy told police he was possibly poisoned, authorities exhumed Man’s body to perform a postmortem examination.
Both deaths were ruled homicides after it was revealed they had been dosed with thallium, a tasteless and odorless substance commonly used to kill rats. Police sources told the Daily News Thursday that no arrests have been made and they have not yet named a suspect, but note Ducatl’s father is not a focus of the investigation.
Production of thallium – which was first discovered in 1861 and used by murderers for centuries – was banned in the U.S. in 1984 due to its toxicity from even accidental exposure.
New York City homicide detectives suspect a Brooklyn grandmother and four-year-old boy who died three months apart were murdered with thallium, a tasteless rat poison that has been banned in the U.S. since the mid-80s (Pictured: Pieces of very pure thallium in glass ampoule)
Man’s husband, Hingsou Wong, said his wife died on February 17, 2021.
She had gone to stay with her daughter after her grandson’s father had moved out of the family home. Ducatl’s parents were reportedly in a custody battle and at odds over his well-being.
Once inside the Bensonhurst home, Man quickly felt sick, prompting her daughter to send her to Mount Sinai Brooklyn where she died eight hours later.
‘I am very sad and heartbroken. My wife was very healthy. I still do not know what happened,’ Wong, 63, shared Thursday.
Another family member, who declined to give their name, echoed: ‘It originally sounded like it was a natural cause.’
Tafoon Man, 63, suddenly fell ill after her daughter’s Bensonhurst home on February 17, 2021 and passed away eight hours after being admitted to Mount Sinai Brooklyn (pictured)
In May 2021, Wilhelm Ducatl, 4, also suddenly fell ill while at his mother’s home. He complained ‘he was feeling tired’ before being rushed toMaimonides Hospital in critical condition with severe stomach pains. Ducatl died two days later
Three months later, on May 24, Ducatl complained of stomach pains and tiredness before being admitted to Maimonides Hospital in critical condition.
The four-year-old died two days later from acute thallium poisoning.
Wong claims he was unaware that his wife and grandchild had been poisoned until three months ago when police arrived at his residence and informed him that they had been victims of a homicide.
Police are continuing to investigate the deaths, which has the family hopeful for closure.
‘Almost a year after everything … if the police are investigating, we just want them to do their work,’ the unnamed relative said.
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