Man Charged With Murder After St. Cloud Roommate Fatally Poisoned

ST. CLOUD (WJON News) -- A Moorhead man who was living in St. Cloud earlier this year has been charged with murder for poisoning his roommate.

Stearns County prosecutors have charged 35-year-old Stuart Hanmer with one count of 2nd-degree murder in the death of 33-year-old Cody Ernst of St. Cloud.

St. Cloud Police say they learned on June 20th that Ernst had been poisoned with thallium. The CDC describes thallium as a tasteless and odorless heavy metal that "has been used by murderers as a difficult to detect poison".

Ernst died two days later on June 22nd.

HOSPITALIZATION

Investigators learned Ernst woke up on May 16th vomiting, was dizzy, and suffering from "seizure-like" activity. Ernst went to the emergency room after his girlfriend found him unresponsive and not breathing on his bathroom floor.

After spending approximately one week at St. Cloud Hospital, Ernst left after refusing placement in a skilled nursing facility. He eventually ended up at the University of Minnesota Fairview Hospital, where he eventually underwent a heavy metals screening. Court records show it came back positive for a lethal amount of thallium in his system.

Court records allege a poison control pharmacist told police that the only way that amount of thallium would be in a person's system would be to ingest it.

THE INVESTIGATION

Investigators spoke with Hanmer, who allegedly said he wasn't aware of what thallium poisoning was until after hearing Ernst had died, and denied poisoning Ernst.

Police used search warrants to seize and inspect Hanmer's phones. Court records allege officers found numerous searches on thallium in early April and again just days before Ernst began having symptoms.

The complaint also shows police discovered three separate purchases of thallium that were sent to a P.O. Box in Hanmer's name, including one delivery signed by Hanmer on May 14th.

THE ARREST

Hanmer was arrested on September 3rd and is being held in the Stearns County Jail until his court appearance on September 19th.