‘Vengeful woman killed lover with Queen of Poisons’

A woman accused of poisoning her former lover and his fiancée was seen putting something into a container of food in his fridge, an Old Bailey jury was told.

Lakhvir Kaur Singh, 44, of Marlborough Road, West Southall, London, allegedly dosed a vegetarian curry with an ancient herb, aconite, known as the ‘Queen of Poisons’ and in England as wolfsbane.

Lakhvinder Cheema, 29, and his fiancée Gurjeet Choough, 23, who ate the meal hours later, felt paralysis creeping through their bodies within a few minutes.

Mr Cheema, of Princes Road, Feltham, London, died within an hour of being taken to West Middlesex University Hospital by car by his sister Narinder. Miss Choough, who had eaten a smaller portion of the food, survived after being put into a coma by doctors.

As he fell ill, Mr Cheema asked two women living in the same house if anyone had visited and they told him a woman they thought was his sister went into his kitchen, took the container from the fridge, put something in it, put it in the microwave and then returned it to the fridge.

Miss Choough told the court her fiancé told her that if it was Lakhvir who had come round to the house she had definitely put something in the food.

The jury heard that Mrs Singh also allegedly poisoned another meal eaten by Mr Cheema on December 6, 2008, but he recovered after spending a week in hospital.

After the second incident police found two bags of herbs containing poison in Mrs Singh’s coat and in a handbag at her home.

Miss Choogh told the jury how she and her fiancée lost the feeling in their bodies and how everything seemed to be going dark.

Mrs Singh denies murder and attempted murder on January 28, 2009 and attempted murder of Mr Cheema on December 6, 2008.

She was said to have killed Mr Cheema out of ‘jealousy, anger and revenge’ after he got engaged to Miss Choough in December 2008.

The trial continues.