Woman accused of poisoning husband claims he was ‘paranoid’ and would call her ‘Chemical Ali’

A woman accused of poisoning her former husband of 39 years told police he was paranoid and would call her “Chemical Ali”, a trial has been told.

A woman accused of poisoning her ex-husband claims he was paranoid, constantly accused her of poisoning him and called her “Chemical Ali,” a court has heard.

Bozena Knapinski, 63, was arrested in April 2023 on suspicion she tried to kill her husband Robert Knapinski after he handed police videos of her adding a substance to his water bottles.

Ms Knapinski is facing multiple counts of intent to harm her ex-husband in the WA Supreme Court, allegations she denies, but she admitted adding selenium to his water bottles “to make him healthy”.

Testing revealed water in 13 bottlespolice seized contained high levels of selenium that were 140 to 1100 times higher than the Australian drinking water guidelines.

Blood tests taken from Mr Knapinski showed selenium levels in his body were four times higher than normal.

Selenium is found in nature as a mineral, but is also an essential trace element in humans that supports thyroid function. It can be toxic and fatal when taken in high doses, a jury heard.

Bozena Knapinski is accused of poisoning her husband by adding selenium to his water, which can be toxic when taken in high doses. Picture: NewsWire/ Sharon Smith.

Video footage from a police interview conducted with Ms Knapinski on the day she was arrested was played in court.

“I am accused by my husband of trying to kill him. I never, never tried to kill him,” Ms Knapinski told police during the interview.

Ms Knapinski told officers during her 39 years of marriage she had cooked, cleaned, worked two jobs and looked after her son and parents, but her husband constantly accused her of poisoning him.

She told police her husband demanded to know every ingredient she used in food and cleaning products and would tell her not to use perfumes, cosmetics or cleaning products that had strong smells.

“He is just obsessed and paranoid,” she said.

“He calls me Chemical Ali.

“I cook, I do everything. Whatever I eat, he eats and my son eats.”

In the recording played to the jury, Ms Knapinski tells officers she had given selenium to her husband after police showed her CCTV footage her husband had recorded, after denying the allegation at first.

Officers said the footage showed her squeezing large amounts of selenium into her husband’s water bottles.

“I just do it to make him healthy,” she told officers.

Bozena Knapinski denied she gave selenium to her husband to hurt him, but was trying to make him feel better, a court was told. Picture: NewsWire/ Sharon Smith,

Ms Knapinski claimed she had been taking the substance for 20 years and did not believe it was toxic.

When officers asked if her husband knew she put the substance in his water bottles, she replied, “No, he is miserable.”

“He is very stubborn and doesn’t take medicine, I did it to stop him being miserable and to enjoy life,” she said.

“It is not only for your health, it is a supplement for longevity.”

Ms Knapinski denied giving her husband the substance to hurt him because of issues in their marriage telling officers she would “never do such a thing.”

“We had a miserable relationship because of his health. I was trying to make him better,” she said.

The woman told police the pair had a turbulent marriage and she had left on two occasions but returned to the marital home after pressure from family members.

On the recording, she said her husband had been controlling, emotionally and verbally abusive during their marriage and he would not allow her to access his money, which he kept in a separate bank account.

She claims she paid for groceries, bills and mortgage repayments without financial support from her former husband.

The couple moved from Poland where Ms Knapinski said she studied medicine for about 18 months and her husband had worked as a mechanic before they migrated to Australia when she fell pregnant.

Ms Knapinski told police her husband never worked after he had a workplace accident about four years after they arrived in Perth.

The trial continues.

Originally published as Woman accused of poisoning husband claims he was ‘paranoid’ and would call her ‘Chemical Ali’