A scientist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison had simmered for years with such resentment and jealousy over a colleague that he poisoned the man’s water with chemicals this month, local authorities said.
The victim quickly discovered the plot when he took a sip from his contaminated Trader Joe’s water bottle and spat out the foul-tasting water, according to a state criminal complaint charging the defendant, Makoto Kuroda. Two days later, the victim, who was identified in the complaint only by the initials T.M., smelled a suspicious odor coming from the laboratory shoes he kept in his office and reported the incident.
Mr. Kuroda, 41, a staff scientist at the Influenza Research Institute in the School of Veterinary Medicine, faces two felony charges of recklessly endangering safety and tampering with a household product with the intent to kill, injure or endanger someone’s health. Testing indicated that the victim’s water contained a high level of chloroform, a common and toxic chemical that is accessible in the lab where both men worked.
According to the complaint, Mr. Kuroda confronted the victim in the lab several days after the incident, saying, “I did it.” He also wrote another colleague, admitting to the poisoning. “I did it,” he wrote, according to the complaint. “I have also informed the person himself. I am very sorry.”
A public defender representing Mr. Kuroda, who was being held in the local jail, did not immediately return a call seeking comment.
John Lucas, a spokesman for the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said in a statement that Mr. Kuroda was currently on administrative leave and that the university was conducting an investigation. Mr. Kuroda’s research privileges have been revoked, Mr. Lucas added.
Police officers interviewed Mr. Kuroda, and they said he told them that he had worked with the victim for about five years.
During that time, Mr. Kuroda gradually developed grievances against his co-worker, the complaint said.
In interviews with police officers, Mr. Kuroda said that T.M. had been promoted repeatedly, while he had not, and that T.M. “felt he was better” than him, the complaint said.
T.M. violated small rules in the lab, failing to wear a coat unless supervisors were present, Mr. Kuroda told the officers. T.M. also crossed in front of Mr. Kuroda in the hallway in a manner that broke an unwritten rule of lab etiquette, he said.
Once, T.M. threw a piece of trash into a bin in front of Mr. Kuroda, making a loud noise.
“The defendant felt this action was intentionally disrespectful,” the complaint said. “The stress that T.M. was causing kept growing and growing, making the defendant ‘do this.’”
Mr. Kuroda told the police that he had put at least one substance, called paraformaldehyde, into the victim’s water bottle, according to the complaint. He had used ChatGPT to calculate dosage, and brushed off warnings from the chatbot about his questions.
He had used a syringe to place chemicals into T.M.’s half-full water bottle on April 5, Mr. Kuroda said, and also placed chemicals into each of T.M.’s shoes.
“About a year ago the defendant had wished that something bad would happen to T.M., because the defendant believes that bad things happen to bad people,” the complaint said.
A preliminary court hearing in the case will be held on Tuesday.
Julie Bosman is the Chicago bureau chief for The Times, writing and reporting stories from around the Midwest.
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