PRESCOTT, Ariz. - A newspaper owner in Prescott claims he's being poisoned with small doses of a chemical nicknamed "inheritance powder."
Joe Soldwedel is a co-owner of the Prescott Daily Courier, as well as a few other rural newspapers in the state.
He told a reporter at the Daily Courier that he had blood work done after a long unexpected illness. According to the paper, the tests came back with high levels of thallium, a chemical that used to be found in rat poison.
Thallium has also been used to commit murders, giving it the nickname "inheritance powder."
According to forensic exerts who looked at Soldwedel's results, the level of thallium in his body was far beyond what a newspaper owner should have had.
"If he worked in a cement plant you might have elevated levels like that," Dr. Ernest Chiodo, a forensic toxicologist who looked at Soldwedel's results said. "But that doesn’t explain his levels given his occupation, which is basically a media executive.”
The Prescott Police Department confirmed it is investigating the case, but did not provide any other details.
Calls to Soldwedel's attorney were not returned Wednesday.
But Soldwedel did tell his own newspaper he believes he knows who is poisoning him, adding it is not his son, daughter or his sister.