A Tallahassee man is being accused of putting semen in a co-worker's water and blaming it on his exhausting work schedule.
Robert Tyson, 62, faces two counts of poisoning water with the intent to kill or injure after the State Attorney's Office filed charges last week. He was arrested Tuesday and was released from the Leon County Detention Center on $2,000 bail.
Tyson, who is a former employee of the Center for Dermatology, is accused in the June 26 and July 2 incidents. Prosecutors dropped two charges of battery against him filed in July after the new charges were approved.
In court records for the July arrest, a co-worker claimed she detected a distinct smell and taste to her water. She inspected her mug and noticed a white mucus floating in her drink that she believed was semen.
She recalled a similar incident, for which Tyson also faces charges, a few weeks prior. The woman and her supervisor reviewed security footage and saw Tyson enter her office and tamper with her mug, according to court records.
yson was confronted and his employment was terminated. Leon County Sheriff’s Office deputies went to his house and he invoked the Fifth Amendment, refusing to speak with investigators.
The woman told investigators she believed the motive was due to Tyson’s disapproval in her as a manager. He had sent several letters to her and her supervisor indicating that he was displeased.
Investigators also reviewed the security footage. According to court records, on both June 26 and July 2, he can be seen entering the woman’s office with a small specimen cup then pouring its contents inside her water mug.
An email Tyson sent to HR representatives at the business also was provided to investigators. In it, Tyson admitted to putting semen in the woman’s water. He attributed his actions to exhaustion from his work schedule.
“I am attaching a letter of admission of guilt and a plea to end this matter quickly,” he wrote, according to court records. “My life is a total wreck right now. I am so repulsed at the thought of my action. I put a couple drops of semen in her water. Yes, semen. Why semen? Why put anything in there at all?”
Contact Karl Etters at ketters@tallahassee.com or @KarlEtters on Twitter.
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