Man accused of poisoning wife's Rice Krispies

An Azusa man is behind bars, accused of trying to kill his wife by poisoning her Rice Krispies cereal. At around 8:30 p.m. on Thursday, the suspect’s 51-year-old wife became extremely ill after ingesting a chemical that was put in her cereal. The victim’s 17-year-old daughter Fernanda dialed 911 after smelling a chemical in her mother’s cereal dish.



“She goes ‘something’s in it, something’s in it,’” says Fernanda. “So I went and picked it up and when I saw what was in the cup, I could smell it and I was like ‘oh my gosh, this is a chemical.’” The all-purpose cleaner Goof Off was found in the victim’s cereal in a quantity that could have killed her. Fernanda says she never suspected her father was the one who put the chemical in the cereal. Fernanda’s dad, 43-year-old Fernando Porras, was home when his wife ate the cereal, and accompanied her to the hospital.

Sergeant Dewayne Eldridge of the Azusa Police Department says Porras first drew attention to himself when he left the hospital upon police officers’ arrival. Porras was tracked down and arrested at a nearby 7-11 store. “It is an unusual case,” says Eldridge. “We normally don’t get cases such as this.” Fernanda says her father battled a drug addiction. “It’s my dad,” she says. “It’s hard not think about, you know, why would he do it?”



Fernanda says she hopes her father gets the help he needs. “You see it on the TV,” Fernanda says. “But you never realize it might happen in your own house.” The victim was released from the hospital on Friday morning in good condition. Porras is being held in lieu of $1 million bail.

With news video.