Payment Deferred: Strychnine Poisoning in Nicaragua 65 Years Ago

Abstract

Background: In 1933 in León, Nicaragua, a 22-year-old woman died after an acute convulsive illness in which she experienced trismus, opisthotonos, and hyperpyrexia. Three years later her husband, Oliverio Castañeda, was convicted of her murder and that of 2 other people in the same city. Methods: We went to Nicaragua to investigate documents involved with that case and evaluate whether the verdict of murder by strychnine was substantiated by the data. We present the results of the investigation and provide information about the practice of medicine, pharmacy, and toxicology early in this century. Results: The clinical picture in all 3 cases suggests strychnine poisoning. The clinical, toxicological, and circumstantial evidence is strong and implicates Castañeda as a murderer and strychnine as the weapon. Conclusion: We conclude that Oliverio Castañeda was the probable perpetrator of three 1933 strychnine murders in León and that he may have previously used strychnine to kill others in Nicaragua and neighboring countries.