Luci H. Zahray, The Poison Lady

by Paula Gail Benson

On Saturday, the Palmetto Chapter of Sisters in Crime was
delighted to welcome as its guest Luci H. Zahray, well known to Malice Domestic
attendees as “the Poison Lady.” Luci, who has a Masters degree in Toxicology
from Texas A&M, first came to Malice as a fan, but when she heard writers
asking how they might dispatch victims with poisons, she offered answers and
quickly became the source to be consulted. She has some interesting tales about
traveling with her poison “toy box” through airport security.

This year, Luci has been able to spread her excellent
information through virtual meetings. During her time with Palmetto Chapter,
she focused on household toxins such as methanol, tobacco, hand sanitizer, and
anti-freeze. The amazing part of her information was how little of a substance was
needed to produce blindness, illness, or death. She calculated based on how the
substance would affect a 170 pound man and referred to the amount as LD 50
(lethal dose 50%).

Here’s
a link
to where she visited The Stiletto Gang on September 11, 2009. Gloria Alden’s summary
of a Malice Domestic meeting (found in Writers Who Kill) indicated that Luci’s
topic that year had been lead. For another Writers Who Kill post,
Edith Maxwell mentions hearing Luci talk about using liquid nicotine, rosary
peas, Tylenol, and alcohol as poisons.

If you have an interest in poisons, you won’t want to miss one of Luci’s presentations.