Where is Charlie Rowley now? Salisbury poisoning victim whose girlfriend Dawn Sturgess died
CHARLIE Rowley was exposed to the deadly nerve agent Novichok along with his girlfriend Dawn Sturgess, near Salisbury, in June 2018.
The pair were found in a property in nearby Amesbury, Wiltshire, and while the 45-year-old initially recovered, he returned to hospital a few months having gone blind. A new BBC TV drama about the nerve agent attack tells his story.
Who is Charlie Rowley?
Charlie Rowley fell ill in Amesbury, Wiltshire on June 30, 2018.
He was the partner of Dawn Sturgess, who died in hospital on Sunday, July 8.
Police said he was exposed to Novichok, the same deadly nerve agent which poisoned former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia.
What happened to him during the Salisbury poisoning?
On July 11, cops found a bottle of Novichok in Charlie's Amesbury House which contained the same nerve agent used on the Skripals.
Jobless Charlie chanced upon a bottle of counterfeit Nina Ricci perfume in a charity shop bin around four months after the Skripals were found and gave it to his partner Dawn.
Cops are probing a theory the poison was in a perfume bottle discarded by the Russian would-be assassins.
When did he regain consciousness?
Rowley regained consciousness on July 10 2018 and was released from hospital 10 days later.
Salisbury District Hospital Director of Nursing Lorna Wilkinson said:"Charlie has been through an appalling experience most of us could never imagine.
Rowley and Sturgess are believed to have handled the bottle, with novichok recovered from swabbing of their right hands.
Neil Basu, the head of UK counter-terrorism policing, said: “This is clearly a significant and positive development."
In August 2018, Charlie was rushed to intensive care after going blind - but his illness is not believed to be an effect of Novichok.
His brother has also spoken at his surprise over his brother's fast recovery. He told Sky News: "I'm very surprised because when I first saw him I thought he would be there for months.
"Obviously he's stronger than I thought."
Where is Charlie Rowley now?
Charlie now lives in Warminster, Wilts. He had to abandon all his belongings from his address in Salisbury in case they were contaminated — and he has now learned his old flat is being knocked down. He said: “I’ve just been told it is going to be demolished and turned into houses. It’s the last tangible thing of what happened. It’s such a sad story.”
Charlie has suffered strokes, meningitis and flashbacks since being infected.
He revealed to The Sun that watching the BBC retelling of the events left him in tears. He said: “I have watched all three episodes. It was incredibly moving and I had a few tears.
“It shows the Dawn I loved, a lovely, caring and generous person. For our relationship to end so abruptly in such a way was an unnatural thing.
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“I’ll be watching tomorrow night with my brother as I don’t want to view it alone.”
Charlie's immune system has been ruined by the deadly poison, making him susceptible to disease and illness and leading to him to contract meningitis.
He said: “I get out of breath very easily. We still don’t know what damage it has done but it’s affected my memory and eyesight. For a year and a half I couldn’t move my left arm properly, and I can’t go too far now.”
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