I gave Dawn the bottle of ‘perfume’ and within 15 mins she was lying unconscious in the bath
NoVICHoK survivor Charlie rowley told yesterday how his girlfriend collapsed 15 minutes after she sprayed the poison on herself thinking it was perfume.
In his first interview since leaving hospital, Mr rowley said he blames himself for Dawn Sturgess’s death because he gave her the bottle containing the russian nerve agent as a gift.
He had taken it home after finding it on the ground, thinking it was an expensive perfume.
The bottle had been thrown away by hitmen after the attempted assassination of former double agent Sergei Skripal, 67, and his daughter Yulia, 33, in March.
Two days after discovering it, Mr rowley gave it to his girlfriend as a present on June 30 and she recognised the bottle as a well- known cosmetics brand.
Assuming it was perfume, Miss Sturgess, 44, sprayed her wrists with the liquid. But within 15 minutes she began to feel unwell.
Mr rowley, 45, told how his girlfriend collapsed fully-clothed in the bath in a ‘very ill state’.
In a heart-breaking interview, he described how he was unable to get a response from her because she ‘was fading so quickly’.
Mr rowley rang 999 from his flat in Amesbury, Wiltshire, with no idea that his girlfriend was suffering from Novichok poisoning.
Describing the moment she fell ill, he told ITV News: ‘I do have a memory of her spraying it on her wrists and rubbing them together. Within 15 minutes Dawn said she had a headache.
‘She asked me if I had any headache tablets. In that time she said she felt peculiar and needed to lie down in the bath.
‘At the time I thought it seemed a bit strange and I went into the bathroom and found her in the bath, fully clothed, in a very ill state.
‘I was in complete shock. I didn’t know what to do. My first reaction was maybe she’s just overreacting or something. But I could tell it was more than that. Within a minute I could tell she wasn’t faking anything.
‘ She was having a proper attack of some sort. I was talking to her the whole time. I couldn’t get any response. She was fading so quickly.’
Mother-of-three Miss Sturgess was taken to Salisbury Hospital but never regained consciousness. She died on July 8 after her life support machine was switched off.
Mr rowley, who like Miss Sturgess has struggled with addiction, said the nerve agent was in a sealed bottle inside a small box. It also contained a spray pump that dispensed the liquid.
He cannot remember where he found it – but it is understood that he picked it up near the popular Queen Elizabeth Gardens in Salisbury, close to where the Skripals were found slumped on a park bench after being poisoned. Mr rowley was admitted to hospital several hours after Miss Sturgess.
‘The time I touched the bottle was the same time Dawn had touched the bottle,’ he said.
‘I had it on my hands and was fortunate enough to wash my hands. unfortunately Dawn didn’t.
‘My hands were covered in the stuff. It was an oily substance with very little odour. It didn’t smell of perfume. I just washed it off very quickly. I didn’t put two and two together at all.’
Mr rowley regained consciousness almost two weeks after becoming ill. He was so sick that at first he did not remember who Miss Sturgess was.
‘I was still ill at the time,’ he said. ‘ It took time to piece together I’d sent Dawn to hospital prior to me being ill.
‘It took time to process. I was so ill I didn’t even know who Dawn was at that point. I don’t remember much to be honest. All I know is what my friend told me … Apparently I was stumbling and foaming at the mouth and acting very peculiar and he called the ambulance and before I knew it … I have no recollection.’
He was told Miss Sturgess died as he continued to undergo electric shock tests to determine the effects of the poison.
Asked if he feels responsible for her death, he replied: ‘of course, in a way … It will always be in the back of my mind.
‘I felt blame. I still do. Dawn was a lovely lady. She had a big heart and she would help anyone she could. She’s just a wonderful woman.
‘They say I’m lucky but I don’t feel lucky … I’ve lost my partner. My heart goes out to the family and loved ones on Dawn’s side. It’s very hard to process.’
Mr rowley said he could not return to his flat as it contained ‘too many bad memories’. He added: ‘I think it was very irresponsible for people to leave the poison for anybody to pick up. It could have been children. I’m very angry at the whole incident.
‘If the police were to find out who caused it, it would mean a great deal to me.’
‘She was fading so quickly’