Woman poisoned by coworker at Berkeley lab releases hidden-camera video as he seeks felony dismissal

A woman whose coworker was convicted of poisoning her is releasing the hidden-camera video that helped catch him, just as he asks a judge to dismiss his felony conviction.

According to prosecutors, David Xu, who previously worked as a senior materials engineer at Berkeley Engineering and Research in California, poisoned the food and water of colleague Rong Yuan with cadmium, a toxic heavy metal, for more than a year, spanning 2017 to 2019.

While Xu's charges included premeditated attempted murder and two felony counts of poisoning, he was offered a plea deal of one count of poisoning and one year of probation, to which he pleaded no contest, according to the San Francisco Standard .

During Xu's sentencing hearing in 2024, the judge made his probation two years and called the deal "extremely generous, considering everything in this case." Yuan released video that appears to show Xu pouring a substance into her water bottle as Xu was set to ask an Alameda County judge to dismiss the felony conviction on Monday.

CALIFORNIA ENGINEER ALLEGEDLY TRIED TO POISON, KILL COLLEAGUE WITH 'TOXIC AMOUNT OF CADMIUM,' POLICE SAY While the district attorney's office has objected to Xu's request for the dismissal of his felony, California law requires judges to grant the request as long as the defendant meets the conditions of his probation.

Yuan told the Standard that releasing the hidden-camera video was her "last resort" to a legal system she believes has failed her.

She was hired by Berkeley Engineering and Research in January 2017 and recalled her first encounter with Xu was tense, claiming he told her that she couldn't use the firm's material characterization lab.

"I just decided I will never overlap with him," she said after the interaction.

"I’ll just simply do my work, and he can do whatever he wants." Over a few weeks' time, according to Yuan, she began feeling symptoms such as dry heaving and hair loss.

The symptoms escalated in July 2017 when she woke up and took a few sips from her water bottle, and she said, "I began to feel like I was dying." FOLLOW THE FOX TRUE CRIME TEAM ON X By late 2018, after going to the hospital repeatedly, she sent an email on Nov.

27, 2018, saying she was throwing up and wouldn't be coming to the office.

SIGN UP TO GET THE LATEST TRUE CRIME NEWS "You should work from home until you feel better.

No reason to rush in," Xu responded.

"I think BEAR is moldy." CLICK HERE FOR MORE FROM THE FOX TRUE CRIME HUB Yuan had a similar feeling after drinking from her desk water bottle in January 2019, recalling "I’m going to die." Her mother drank from the water bottle and realized there was a sour taste, sparking suspicions her water was being tampered with.