Young’s boss, Bob Egle, was one of the victims. Egle recovered while on vacation but became sick again after returning to work. He died in July. A senior employee, Fred Biggs, came in to help because so many workers were out sick, but soon, he was also unwell. He died in November, 1971. Young noted in his journal he was annoyed it took so long.
A doctor came to the warehouse to look for toxicity in the environment and reassure workers. He became suspicious of Young after Young grilled him about the possibility of thallium poisoning. He reported this to the authorities, who looked into Young and discovered his criminal past (via Biography).
Young’s guilt was clear: He had thallium on his person when he was arrested, and police found his journal, in which he recorded who he had poisoned, by how much, and the results. However, he pleaded not guilty because he wanted the hype of a trial, and the trial did in fact attract media attention. Publicly, he tried to appear sinister, and he didn’t like his media nickname “the Teacup Poisoner, wanting instead to be called “the World Poisoner” (via Biography).
