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A Japanese scientist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison is facing felony charges after allegedly admitting to an April poisoning attempt on his colleague in the school's Influenza Research Institute (IRI), according to court documents obtained by Wisconsin Public Radio (WPR).
Investigators said 41-year-old Makoto Kuroda felt slighted after his friend received a promotion and Kuroda felt he started treating him differently. It ended with Kuroda allegedly tainting his former friend's water bottle with numerous toxic chemicals and handing his co-worker a note that said "I did it" in Japanese.
Kuroda admitted to using chloroform, paraformaldehyde (PFA), and Trizol to poison his co-worker's water bottle and shoes, according to a Dane County Court criminal complaint.
A research scientist for IRI, Kuroda had published multiple papers on the Ebola Virus and SARS CoV-2, better known as COVID 19. In his position he handled and had access to a wide variety of toxic chemicals.
An outside view of Bascom Hall on the campus of the University of Wisconsin on Oct. 12, 2013, in Madison, Wisconsin. Inset: Mugshot of Makoto Kuroda courtesy of Dane County Sheriff's Office. (Mike McGinnis/Getty Images)
In the days leading up to his contamination, Kuroda reportedly used Chat GPT to "find the harmful amount of PFA and Trizol for both humans and animals," according to a police report cited in the complaint.
The alleged victim, identified in the document only as TM, was once a close friend to Kuroda, but their relationship had deteriorated.
Kuroda told police there were "multiple small things" that led to his decision to poison his former friend, including an incident in which Kuroda got upset with the victim for not wearing a lab coat and goggles in the lab, according to court documents. But Kuroda also cited a promotion awarded to the victim, claiming after he got the promotion, TM's attitude towards Kuroda changed.
This file photo shows a research specialist at the Wisconsin National Primate research Center (WNPRC) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, puts a pregnant rhesus macaque monkey infected with the Zika virus back into its cage following an ultrasound on June 28, 2016, in Madison, Wisconsin. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
"The defendant felt TM felt he was better than the defendant," according to the court document.
Kuroda allegedly told police TM "started treating subordinates as less than and supervisors as better than," court documents said. The defendant allegedly refused to wear a lab coat when supervisors were not present.
Kuroda mentioned other small incidents that rubbed him the wrong way as well.
"According to the defendant, there is an unwritten rule in the lab when people are walking down the center hall of the labs, you need to wait for the person to pass before you cross that hall. The defendant was walking down this hall and instead of TM waiting like everyone else does, TM crossed in front of the defendant like the defendant was not there. TM also had a piece of trash and threw it into the trash in front of the defendant making a loud noise. The defendant felt this action was intentionally disrespectful. The stress that TM was causing kept growing and growing making the defendant 'do this,'" the document read.
Bascom Hall on the campus of the University of Wisconsin-Madison (Mike McGinnis/Getty Images)
Kuroda used half a milliliter of four percent PFA in TM's water bottle, an amount he did not expect to kill the victim.
"My aim was just, he feel bad," he allegedly told police.
According to the police report, when asked how he'd feel if the victim died, Kuroda "sat silent for about 30 seconds before saying 'I, I shouldn't do that.'"
After police were called to investigate the matter, Kuroda came clean to both the victim and another employee who, like Kuroda, speaks Japanese.
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In a letter addressed to this colleague, who the court documents list only as YK, Kuroda wrote "I did it. I have also informed the person himself. I am very sorry."
Prosecutors charged Kuroda with one count of second degree recklessly endangering safety and one charge of tampering with household products. If found guilty of both he could face up to 16 years in prison and fines of over $35,000.
Fox News Digital contacted the University of Wisconsin for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
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