Graham Frederick Young (September 7, 1947 – August 1, 1990) was a British serial killer who poisoned a total of three people to death (his stepmother, and then years later two work colleagues, Bob Egle and Fred Biggs) as well as administering smaller doses to scores of others. September 7 is the 250th day of the year (251st in leap years). ... 1947 (MCMXLVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1947 calendar). ... August 1 is the 213th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (214th in leap years), with 152 days remaining. ... This article is about the year. ... Serial killers are individuals who have a history of multiple slayings of victims who were usually unknown to them beforehand. ... The skull and crossbones symbol traditionally used to label a poisonous substance. ...

Born in Neasden, he was fascinated with poisons and their effects on the human body (not to mention with Nazism) from a young age. In 1961 (at the age of 14) he started to test poisons out on his family in doses strong enough to make them violently ill. He purchased a large quantity of poison by frequently buying small amounts of antimony and digitalis, lying about his age and claiming that they were for science experiments at school. Neasden Neasden is a place in the London Borough of Brent. ... Human anatomy or anthropotomy is a special field within anatomy. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... 1961 (MCMLXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1961 calendar). ... General Name, Symbol, Number antimony, Sb, 51 Chemical series metalloids Group, Period, Block 15, 5, p Appearance silvery lustrous grey Atomic mass 121. ... Species About 20 species, including: Digitalis ciliata Digitalis davisiana Digitalis dubia Digitalis ferruginea Digitalis grandiflora Digitalis laevigata Digitalis lanata Digitalis lutea Digitalis obscura Digitalis parviflora Digitalis purpurea Digitalis thapsi Digitalis viridiflora Digitalis is a genus of about 20 species of herbaceous biennials, perennials and shrubs that was traditionally placed in...

Graham Frederick Young. When the press asked for a photo, he insisted they use this photobooth shot in which he looked 'particularly cold-eyed and sinister.'

In 1962 Young's stepmother Molly finally died of a lethal dose of poison. He also had been systematically poisoning his father, sister, and a school friend. Young's aunt Winnie, who knew of his fascination with chemistry and poisons, had become suspicious. He might have escaped suspicion if no one had known of his interests because he regularly suffered the same nausea and sicknesses as the rest of his family, often because he forgot which foods he had laced. He was sent to see a psychiatrist, who was concerned enough to recommend contacting the police. Young was arrested on 23 May 1962. He confessed to the attempted murders of his father, sister, and friend. The remains of his stepmother could not be analysed, as she had been cremated. A photo of serial killer Graham Young. ... Chemistry (from Greek χημεία khemeia[1] meaning alchemy) is the science of matter at the atomic to molecular scale, dealing primarily with collections of atoms, such as molecules, crystals, and metals. ... Psychiatry is a branch of medicine that studies and treats mental and emotional disorders (see mental illness). ... May 23 is the 143rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (144th in leap years). ... 1962 (MCMLXII) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar). ... Murder is both a legal and a moral term, that are not always coincident. ... The crematorium at Haycombe Cemetery, Bath, England. ...

Young was sentenced to 15 years in Broadmoor Hospital, an institution for mentally unstable criminals. He was released after nine years, when he was deemed "fully recovered." During his years in the hospital, however, Young had studied medical texts, improving his knowledge of the effects of poisons on the human body, and had continued his experiments, using fellow inmates and hospital staff as guinea pigs. Location within the British Isles Broadmoor Hospital is a secure mental hospital in Crowthorne in Berkshire. ...

After his release from prison in 1971, he worked at a photographic supply store not far from his sister's home in Hemel Hempstead in nearby Bovingdon, Hertfordshire. His new employers received references from Broadmoor hospital, but were inexplicably not informed of his past as a convicted poisoner. Soon after he began work, his foreman, Bob Egle, grew violently ill and eventually died. Young had been making tea laced with poisons such as antimony and thallium for his coworkers. A sickness had swept through his workplace and, mistaken for a strange virus, was nicknamed the "Bovingdon Bug." All these cases of nausea and illness, sometimes severe enough to require hospitalisation, were later attributed to Young and his tea. Bovingdon Bovingdon is a village in the Chiltern Hills, in Hertfordshire, England, close to the town of Hemel Hempstead. ... Hertfordshire (pronounced Hartfordshire and abbreviated as Herts) is an inland county in the United Kingdom and part of the East of England Government Office region. ... Tea leaves in a Chinese gaiwan. ... General Name, Symbol, Number thallium, Tl, 81 Chemical series poor metals Group, Period, Block 13, 6, p Appearance silvery white Atomic mass 204. ... Groups I: dsDNA viruses II: ssDNA viruses III: dsRNA viruses IV: (+)ssRNA viruses V: (-)ssRNA viruses VI: ssRNA-RT viruses VII: dsDNA-RT viruses A virus (Latin, poison) is a microscopic particle that can infect the cells of a biological organism. ...

Young poisoned around 70 people during the next few months, none fatally. Egle's successor sickened soon after starting work there, but decided to quit. That decision probably saved his life. A few months after Egle's death, another of Young's workmates, Fred Biggs, grew ill and was admitted to the London National Hospital for Nervous Diseases. It was too late to save him, however, and after suffering in agony for several weeks, he became Young's third and final victim. London (pronounced ) is the capital city of England and the United Kingdom. ...

At this point, it was evident that a proper investigation into the sicknesses and deaths was necessary. Young asked the company doctor if the investigators had not considered thallium poisoning as a cause of the symptoms. He had also told one of his colleagues that his hobby was the study of toxic chemicals. Young's colleague went to the police, who immediately checked Young's background and uncovered his criminal record. Toxic redirects here, but this is also the name of a song by Britney Spears; see Toxic (song) Look up toxic and toxicity in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Young was arrested on 21 November 1971. Police found thallium in his pocket and antimony, thallium and aconitine in his flat. They also discovered a meticulously detailed diary that Young had kept, noting all the doses of poisons he had administered, their effects, and whether he was going to allow each person to live or die. November 21 is the 325th day of the year (326th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1971 calendar). ... Structure of Aconitine Aconitine is a highly poisonous alkaloid derived from the aconite plant. ...

At his trial at St Albans Crown Court, which started 19 June 1972, and lasted for ten days, Young pleaded not guilty, and explained the diary away as a mere fantasy he was planning to base a novel on in the future. In light of the evidence, however, Young was found guilty and was sentenced to life in prison. He was dubbed The Teacup Poisoner, although he apparently wanted to be remembered as the World's poisoner. St Albans (thus spelt, no apostrophe or dot) is the main urban area of the City and District of St Albans in southern Hertfordshire, England, around 22 miles (35. ... June 19 is the 170th day of the year (171st in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 195 days remaining. ... 1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ... See fantasy for an account of the literary genre involving the development of common or popular fantasies. ... A novel (from French nouvelle Italian novella, new) is an extended, generally fictional narrative in prose. ... Evidence has several meanings as indicated below. ... Life imprisonment is a term used for a particular kind of sentence of imprisonment. ...

While in prison, he befriended fellow serial killer Ian Brady, whom he bonded with over their shared fascination with Nazi Germany. In his 2001 book, The Gates of Janus, Brady would write that "it was hard not to have empathy for Graham Young." Moors murderer Ian Brady at the time of his arrest in October 1965. ... Nazi Germany, or the Third Reich, commonly refers to Germany in the years 1933–1945, when it was under the firm control of the totalitarian and fascist ideology of the Nazi Party, with the Führer Adolf Hitler as dictator. ... For the fictional character, see Empath (comics). ...

Young died in his cell at Parkhurst prison at the age of 42 in 1990. The official cause of death was listed as a myocardial infarction, but there is some conjecture that fellow prisoners were the culprits. HM Prison Parkhurst is a prison situated in Parkhurst, Isle of Wight. ... A myocardial infarction occurs when an atherosclerotic plaque slowly builds up in the inner lining of a coronary artery and then suddenly ruptures, totally occluding the artery and preventing blood flow downstream. ...

A film called The Young Poisoner's Handbook (1995) is loosely based on Young's life. The Young Poisoners Handbook is a British-German-French-produced black comedy film based on the life of Graham Frederick Young, more commonly known as the teacup murderer. It was directed by Benjamin Ross, and written by the aforesaid director and Jeff Rawle. ...

External links

• Crimelibrary entry for Graham Young
• Quick overview of Young's career
• Young's entry in the A-Z of Serial Killers
• Article about Young at Murder in the UK
• Schoolgirl blogger poisons mother in homage to Young[News article]
• The Young Poisoner's Handbook at the Internet Movie Database