‘Disgruntled employee’ gets prison for poisoning co-workers

A woman who didn’t get along with her co-workers will spend three and a half years behind bars for poisoning them last year with the cleaning solution Windex.

Mayda Edith Rivera-Juarez, 33, was sentenced to the prison term Tuesday after she pleaded guilty in February to felony charges of adulterating food with intent to injure or kill, the Daily Mail reports.

The case stems from October, when Rivera-Juarez’s colleagues at a Sterling, Virginia, trucking company complained about being ill after drinking the office coffee.

Victims reported to police that they experienced “severe digestive problems and diarrhea,” said Loudon County Sherriff’s Office spokesman Alex Kowalski.

After the complaints, Rivera-Juarez’s boss examined surveillance video inside the office’s break room. She was then fired.

In an interview with detectives, Rivera-Juarez admitted that she intended to taint the coffee and that she also had previously squirted dish soap into her boss’ drink.

Rivera-Juarez’s co-workers say she was a “disgruntled employee who didn’t see eye to eye with other employees,” according to WTOP-TV.

Window cleaning products can contain multiple hazardous ingredients, including ammonia, isopropyl alcohol, ethanol and methanol.

People who consume window cleaners could suffer convulsions, throat pain, vision loss, esophagus damage, vomiting, difficulty breathing and brain damage.

The National Library of Medicine suggests that anyone who believes he or she has been poisoned from a window cleaner should not vomit, but instead should drink milk or water until medical professionals can render assistance.

Help can also be found by calling the national poisoning hotline at 1-800-222-1222.

[Featured Image: Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office, Mayda Edith Rivera-Juarez]