Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Novichok victim ‘is struggling to walk’
Brother tells of nerve agent attack
THE devastating effects of deadly Novichok have left Charlie Rowley battling serious health issues.
The nerve agent has not only made him traumatised, lethargic and suffering from memory loss – but he is also battling just to walk.
Charlie, 45, exposed to the same substance that killed his partner Dawn Sturgess, is being guarded by police in a safe house after spending 20 days in intensive care.
But his brother Matthew Rowley has managed to talk to him on the phone.
Matthew, 47, revealed: “His legs are playing up and he can’t really walk. He was up on Sunday but he is really weak still.
“I’ve been trying to push him for information but he has been through a really traumatic thing.
“It’s difficult talking to him as he still can’t really remember anything.
“He hasn’t talked about Dawn and I don’t want to ask because I’m trying to lift his spirits, not bring them down.”
Charlie and mum-of-three Dawn, 44, were drinking in a park in Salisbury, Wilts, when they picked up a perfume bottle containing Novichok. It is believed the toxin was discarded following the failed attempt to kill former Russian spy Sergei Skripal, 67, and daughter Yulia, 33.
Dawn, who sprayed the chemical on her wrists, collapsed at Charlie’s home in Amesbury, Wilts, on June 30.
She died nine days later in hospital. Charlie is understood to have come into contact with Novichok when the bottle splintered in his hands.
He spent 10 days in a coma but was discharged from hospital on Friday. Matthew, a former Rolls-royce mechanic, added: “I’m happy Charlie is out. He is out of the danger zone.
“But he’s very lethargic and he does not seem himself. He’s really bored.
“He’s looking forward to getting a TV. He told me I can visit him now.” Police, in protective suits, are continuing to carry out searches in Salisbury. The activity has focused on Queen Elizabeth Gardens where the perfume bottle is believed to have been found.
Detectives probing Dawn’s death have identified “several Russian suspects”.
It is believed the nerve agent was discarded in March after being daubed on the door handle of the Skripals’ home.