The Husband Poisoner

True Crime Conversations · May 12, 2021 · 29m

For Desmond Butler, it began with a headache. Then diarrhoea. Nausea that felt like a hangover. He was otherwise a healthy man, not yet 30. He shared two children with his wife Yvonne Gladys Butler, a striking woman, small and doll-like. Desmond also attracted the attention of neighbours, with dark, thick floppy hair, an athletic physique and perhaps a wandering eye. It was October 1947, and the young couple lived in a small house in the then working-class suburb of Newtown in Sydney. But back to Desmond’s headaches. Over the course of a week, his symptoms worsened. Extreme fatigue…