THEY’VE KILLED MY GIRLFRIEND

Novichok victim’s agonising first words to brother

NOVICHOK victim Charlie Rowley cried out about the death of girlfriend Dawn Sturgess when he regained consciousness, his brother revealed yesterday.

Matthew Rowley told how he visited the 45-year-old in hospital after he came round and said he barely recognised him.

He added: “I wiggled his toes and said to him, ‘Are you OK, Charles?’

“He was semi-woken and said, ‘They killed my girlfriend, they killed my girlfriend.’ He was very angry and crying.

“I could hardly recognise him, I nearly cried. He’s skin and bones as he obviously hadn’t been able to eat.”

Matthew visited Charlie on Wednesday, the day after he came round. He added: “He said he’s feeling horrible.

“His speech was still a little slurred, but he sounded as OK as he can be and he’s compos mentis. He still had no idea what poisoned him and Dawn, but the nurses are fantastic.”

Labourer Charlie and mum-of-three Dawn, 44, fell ill at his home in Amesbury, Wilts, on June 30 after being exposed to Novichok, the nerve agent used to poison Russian spy Sergei Skripal and daughter Yulia in nearby Salisbury in March.

Dawn died on Sunday. Police on Friday revealed they had found a small bottle of the substance inside Charlie’s property.

Despite his improvement, he remains in a serious but stable condition at Salisbury General Hospital. Matthew said: “The nurses have said it’s still hour by hour, day by day, and that’s how they’re taking it.”

Police yesterday revealed they have recovered more than 400 “items” in the hunt for evidence, but warned the search could go on for months.