A 38-year-old man from California was charged after it was suspected that he poisoned eight homeless people by giving them food laced with chemicals. The series of attacks were filmed so that he can watch their reactions.
Twisted pleasure
Some of the homeless victims thought that they were taking part in a spicy food challenge, according to the prosecutors. Several of the people were hospitalized, according to a press release by the Orange County District Attorney's Office.
The suspect, William Robert Cable from San Andreas, California, filmed the reactions of the homeless people eating the food he gave which were laced with oleoresin capsicum. The chemical is stronger than the pepper spray used by the police.
Todd Spitzer from the Orange County District Attorney said that the homeless people were preyed upon because they are vulnerable and they were poisoned and exploited as part of a sick and twisted form of entertainment.
The pain of the people was recorded so that it could be replayed by the attacker and so that it can be shared with others who enjoy the same sick kind of entertainment.
The victims suffered seizure-like symptoms, vomiting, difficulty in breathing, and intense stomach and mouth pain, according to the press release. Many of the victims did not know that the food that they were given was laced with chemicals.
Other homeless victims were given beer and other kinds of food, in order to convince them to each the food laced poison. The series of crimes started in mid-May and Cable was arrested on May 22 in Huntington Beach, where all of the poisonings happened.
Cable involved a teenager during the poison attacks, according to Police Chief Robert Handy of Huntington Beach. He said that it made the crime is more reprehensible given its nature and the targets.
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Cable is now charged with eight counts of poisoning and one count of inflicting injury on an elderly person. He was also charged with eight misdemeanor counts because he had a minor with him and he consumed alcohol and smoked marijuana while driving.
Cable is now facing a maximum of 19 years and three months in prison if he is convicted on all counts. He is currently being detained at the Orange County Jail and his bail is set to $500,000.
Attack on the homeless
In October 2019, a man was charged with murder for the deaths of four homeless men in New York City. The suspect attacked the men while they were sleeping. The suspect, Randy Rodriguez Santos, was also homeless.
The 24-year-old suspect has also been charged with attempted murder and unlawful possession of marijuana, he had been arrested six other times prior to the murder. Santos was held without bail. The ages of three of his four victims were 45, 50, and 83.
The age of the fourth victim was not revealed and a fifth man was injured in the attack, he was 49-years-old. Santos struck the victim's heads with a metal object, possibly a pipe, while they were sleeping. No specific motive was given by the police and they ruled it out as random attacks.
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