Two Years of Unexplained Illness
Rong Yuan spent years trying to explain a worsening illness. Beginning in 2017, she suffered vomiting and hair loss and visited countless doctors, but her condition continued to get worse. The report says David Xu, 41, a scientist and chemical engineer at Berkeley Engineering and Research, had secretly been poisoning her with cadmium for nearly two years. Cadmium is a toxic heavy metal, making the contents of that water bottle a serious danger rather than a harmless workplace nuisance.
The Hidden Camera Captured the Answer
An unusual smell finally gave Yuan a lead. Her mother noticed the odor coming from Yuan’s water bottle. Washing the bottle did not solve the problem, so Yuan installed a small hidden camera at her desk. The footage showed Xu pouring cadmium into the bottle. After reviewing the video, Yuan said, “Shocked. I don’t know why.” The footage showed what was happening, but it did not explain the motive. Yuan said Xu had sometimes told her to pursue other jobs.
A Plea Agreement Followed the Charges
In 2019, Xu was charged with premeditated murder. Under a plea agreement, he pleaded guilty to poisoning and received a sentence of two years’ probation. On Monday, a judge granted Xu’s request to have his record expunged. Prosecutors objected to that request, according to the report. KGO said Yuan was speaking publicly about the case for the first time after the decision.
Yuan Still Does Not Know Why
Yuan still says she does not know why Xu poisoned her. That unanswered question sits beside a clear chain of events: a long illness, an odor from a water bottle, a hidden camera, video of the poisoning, a guilty plea, and a later expungement. Her comments keep attention on both the harm she described and the court’s decision to expunge the felony conviction despite prosecutors’ objections.