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A woman whose co-worker was convicted of poisoning her releases the hidden camera video that helped catch her, just as he asks a judge to overturn his felony conviction.
According to prosecutors, David Xu, who previously worked as a senior materials engineer at Berkeley Engineering and Research in California, poisoned his colleague Rong Yuan’s food and water with cadmium, a toxic heavy metal, for more than a year from 2017 to 2019.
While Xu’s charges included attempted premeditated murder and two counts of poisoning, he was offered a plea deal that included one count of poisoning and a year of probation, which he pleaded no contest to, according to the San Francisco Standard. At Xu’s 2024 sentencing hearing, the judge imposed his probation at two years and called the deal “extremely generous, considering everything that’s going on in this case.”
Yuan posted a video that appears to show Xu pouring a substance into his water bottle as Xu prepared to ask an Alameda County judge to vacate the felony conviction Monday.
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David Xu, a former senior materials engineer at Berkeley Engineering and Research, was convicted of poisoning a co-worker. He’s asking an Alameda County judge to vacate the felony conviction. (Berkeley Police)
While the prosecutor’s office opposed Xu’s request to dismiss his crime, California law requires judges to grant the request as long as the defendant fulfills the conditions of his probation.
Yuan told the Standard that releasing the hidden camera video was her “last resort” to a legal system that she says has failed her.
She was hired by Berkeley Engineering and Research in January 2017 and recalled that her first meeting with Xu was tense, saying he told her she couldn’t use the company’s materials characterization lab.
“I just decided I would never ride with him,” she said after the interaction. “I’m just going to do my job, and he can do whatever he wants.”
Hidden camera footage released by Rong Yuan shows his former colleague David Xu pouring a substance into his water bottle at their workplace in California. (Credit: Rong Yuan)
After a few weeks, according to Yuan, she began experiencing symptoms such as dry vomiting and hair loss. The symptoms intensified in July 2017 when she woke up and took a few sips from her water bottle, and she said, “I started feeling like I was dying.” »
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In late 2018, after visiting the hospital several times, she sent an email on November 27, 2018, saying she was vomiting and would not come to the office.
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The building that houses Berkeley Engineering and Research in Berkeley, California, where David Xu and Rong Yuan worked. (Google Maps)
“You should work from home until you feel better. No reason to rush,” Xu replied. “I think BEAR is moldy.”
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Yuan had a similar feeling after drinking his office water bottle in January 2019, remembering “I’m going to die.” Her mother drank from the water bottle and realized it tasted sour, leading to suspicions her water had been tainted. She then ordered a spy camera from Amazon.
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Yuan placed the camera on her desk on February 11, 2019, and Xu could be seen at 11:04 a.m. reaching to where her water bottle was.
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Another video from March 4, 2019 shows Xu pouring something into Yuan’s water bottle.
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“My blood was frozen,” Yuan said after watching the video. “I almost died. I’ve been so close to death, so many times. I can’t let him go.”
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Berkeley is shown with San Francisco in the background. (Neal Wong/Getty Images)
She turned the video over to the Berkeley Police Department shortly afterward.
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Xu completed his probation in March. Although he requests the annulment of the conviction, it would nevertheless remain on his file.
Fox News Digital has reached out to Xu’s attorney for comment.
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