A woman accused of poisoning an Australian exchange student is now being investigated in connection with the mysterious death of her British husband several months earlier.
Alex Shorey, 24, from Toowoomba in southern Queensland, fell ill after allegedly being given rat poison by an elderly woman while he was studying in Taiwan in early 2023.
Initially his illness was attributed to poor street food, but toxicology tests revealed he had ingested the rodenticide superwarfarin.
The University of Queensland exchange student was eventually medically repatriated to Australia several weeks later after citizens raised more than $200,000.
Taipei City police later charged a 45-year-old local woman – Mr Shorey’s girlfriend, according to local media – with causing bodily harm over the alleged poisoning, Taiwanese news.
It has now emerged that detectives are also investigating the mysterious death of the woman’s husband in January 2023, just months before Shorey was allegedly poisoned.
The new trail is said to have emerged in January this year, when a British man travelled to Taiwan seeking information about his older brother, who had moved there after marrying a local woman.
However, he then lost contact with his family, who had not heard from him for months.
Alex Shorey (pictured left), 24, from Toowoomba in southern Queensland, fell ill after he was allegedly poisoned with rat poison by an elderly woman while studying in Taiwan in early 2023
The University of Queensland exchange student (pictured) was eventually medically repatriated to Australia after more than $200,000 was raised by the public
Using the little information the younger brother had provided, police discovered that the British national had been married to the woman charged with poisoning Mr Shorey.
But he had died in January 2023 – four months before Mr Shorey fell ill – after experiencing very similar symptoms, the Taipei Times.
Doctors who treated the British man suspected he had ingested rat poison.
Despite this, his body was handed over to his wife without a forensic autopsy being performed.
She then had the body cremated.
Local police are currently investigating the man’s death. No charges have been filed yet.
The woman is also still under investigation for the suspected poisoning of Mr Shorey.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Taipei City police for further comment.
Mr Shorey, who had been overseas for almost a year, was just weeks away from returning to Australia when At the end of March last year, he started experiencing black spots on his skin and unusual bleeding.
Alex Shorey’s parents, Stephen and Julie (pictured), initially thought their son’s illness was the result of eating bad street food, until toxicology tests revealed he had taken the rodenticide superwarfarin
A GoFundMe page set up on behalf of Mr. Shorey’s parents raised nearly $210,000 in less than two days
Three weeks later, he was admitted to the intensive care unit of Taipei Medical University Hospital.
After days of bleeding, Mr Shorey went into hypovolemic shock, meaning his organs were at risk of failing due to the lack of blood.
In the weeks that followed, he was in and out of hospital as bewildered doctors tried to figure out what was wrong with him.
His parents initially thought his ailment was caused by contaminated street food, but Taipei police ruled this out.
The gruesome truth later came to light when toxicology tests revealed he had taken the rat poison superwarfarin.
Taipei police have launched an investigation into a 45-year-old woman, described in local media as Mr Shorey’s girlfriend, for suspected deliberate poisoning.
According to local media, rat poison was found in the woman’s home, similar to the poison found in Mr Shorey’s system.
Medical Rescue (pictured) flew Mr Shorey back from Taiwan to Princess Alexandra Hospital in Queensland in May 2023
She reportedly told detectives she mixed rat poison with juice in an attempt to commit suicide because she was depressed over her husband’s death, but Mr Shorey allegedly accidentally drank the mixture.
When police discovered she had booked a one-way ticket to the UK, they banned the woman from leaving the country and confiscated her phone.
They reportedly discovered messages indicating the woman was unhappy with Mr Shorey’s interactions with other women and his plans to return to Australia.
Last year, Mr Shorey’s family said in a statement that their “priority is Alex’s recovery”.
“Since Alex’s return, we have declined all media requests as we have been advised not to comment further in order not to jeopardize the ongoing police investigation in Taiwan,” the statement said.