| The "Umbrella Murder" is the most famous | | | | antidote. |
| incident involving the misuse of a brolly, and took | | | | Markov wasn't the last person to suffer death by |
| place on the streets of London in 1978. Georgi | | | | umbrella; in 2003, an 11 year old was beaten to |
| Markov, a Bulgarian novelist and playwright who | | | | death with an umbrella by her parents after trying |
| defected from the communist state to work for | | | | to run away from home in Atlanta, Georgia. She |
| the BBC World Service, met The Reaper after | | | | had been locked in a room and starved before |
| being stabbed with an umbrella containing a poison | | | | being beaten, and the cause of death was |
| pellet whilst he was waiting at a bus stop on | | | | recorded as 'blunt force trauma'. |
| Waterloo Bridge. It's reported that a man holding | | | | More recently, a court in Rome has convicted a |
| an umbrella apologised in a foreign accent and | | | | Romanian woman of fatally stabbing another |
| then walked off. Later that day Markov | | | | passenger with an umbrella whilst on Rome's |
| developed a high fever and was admitted to | | | | subway. The 21 year-old female victim, Vanessa |
| hospital; he died three days later. | | | | Russo, was jabbed in the eye with the umbrella |
| Due to the suspicious nature of his death, | | | | tip, and died two days later in hospital. The |
| Scotland Yard ordered a thorough investigation | | | | Romanian was caught on the metro station's |
| including an autopsy, where they discovered a pin | | | | CCTV camera and has been sentenced to 16 |
| sized spherical metal pellet in Markov's calf muscle. | | | | years imprisonment. The news has sparked calls |
| The pellet was made up of 90% platinum and | | | | for stricter laws on immigrants in Italy, though the |
| 10% iridium and had drilled holes in which traces of | | | | incident doesn't appear to have made a dent in |
| a poison known as ricin were found. The ricin was | | | | the number of travellers taking a short break in |
| held in place by a special sugar substance which | | | | Rome. |
| was designed to melt at body temperature, | | | | For the vast majority of us though umbrellas |
| releasing the poison into the blood stream once | | | | continue to serve as a useful tool for keeping us |
| the pellet had hit its mark. Ricin is a protein | | | | dry when the heavens open, but in the wrong |
| produced by the castor bean plant, found in the | | | | hands, this humble household item can become a |
| leaves and stem, but is most concentrated in the | | | | deadly weapon. |
| seeds. It is highly toxic to man and has no known | | | | |