Mass. Student Faces Extradition for Attempted Poisoning
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iStockphoto/Thinkstock(BOSTON) — A Massachusetts college student is facing extradition for allegedly trying to poison a classmate at St. Andrews University in Scotland by enticing him to drink red wine laced with anti-freeze chemicals.
Alexander Hilton, 21, of Princeton, Mass., is charged with attempted murder in Scotland and will face an extradition hearing early next month.
Hilton gave a bottle of wine laced with methanol, a chemical found in anti-freeze, to a friend while playing drinking games at St. Andrews University in Scotland, the elite school once attended by Prince William, according to court papers.
The other student fell seriously ill, experienced blindness, and could have died, according to court documents in the case.
Hilton was arrested by U.S. authorities last week under the United States’ extradition treaty with the United Kingdom.
Hilton appeared in federal court in Boston on Thursday for a bail hearing that is expected to continue next week. He will then face an extradition hearing on March 7.
Hilton’s lawyer, Norman S. Zalkind, told ABC News that his client is “seriously mentally ill,” but said that he “emphatically denies” the charges.
Neither the court documents nor Hilton’s lawyer cited a motive for the alleged attack.
The alleged victim drank all of the wine, and over the next few days began experiencing serious symptoms including severe headaches, joint pain, nausea, wheezing, balance problems, and blurred vision. He eventually sought medical treatment at a hospital.
The man also experienced temporary blindness, and has still only partially recovered his vision, according to the court documents.
If extradited to Scotland to face the attempted murder charge, he will be represented by a Scottish lawyer, Zalkind said.
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