Woman poisoned by coworker at Berkeley lab releases hidden-camera video as he seeks felony dismissal

A woman whose coworker was convicted of poisoning her is releasing the hidden-camera video that helped catch him, just as he asks a judge to dismiss his felony conviction.

According to prosecutors, David Xu, who previously worked as a senior materials engineer at Berkeley Engineering and Research in California, poisoned the food and water of colleague Rong Yuan with cadmium, a toxic heavy metal, for more than a year, spanning 2017 to 2019.

While Xu's charges included premeditated attempted murder and two felony counts of poisoning, he was offered a plea deal of one count of poisoning and one year of probation, to which he pleaded no contest, according to the San Francisco Standard. During Xu's sentencing hearing in 2024, the judge made his probation two years and called the deal "extremely generous, considering everything in this case."

Yuan released video that appears to show Xu pouring a substance into her water bottle as Xu was set to ask an Alameda County judge to dismiss the felony conviction on Monday.

David Xu, a former senior materials engineer at Berkeley Engineering and Research, was convicted of poisoning a coworker. He is asking an Alameda County judge to dismiss the felony conviction. (Berkeley Police)

While the district attorney's office has objected to Xu's request for the dismissal of his felony, California law requires judges to grant the request as long as the defendant meets the conditions of his probation.

Yuan told the Standard that releasing the hidden-camera video was her "last resort" to a legal system she believes has failed her.

She was hired by Berkeley Engineering and Research in January 2017 and recalled her first encounter with Xu was tense, claiming he told her that she couldn't use the firm's material characterization lab.

"I just decided I will never overlap with him," she said after the interaction. "I’ll just simply do my work, and he can do whatever he wants."

Hidden-camera footage released by Rong Yuan shows her former coworker David Xu pouring a substance into her water bottle at their California workplace. (Credit: Rong Yuan)

Over a few weeks' time, according to Yuan, she began feeling symptoms such as dry heaving and hair loss. The symptoms escalated in July 2017 when she woke up and took a few sips from her water bottle, and she said, "I began to feel like I was dying."

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By late 2018, after going to the hospital repeatedly, she sent an email on Nov. 27, 2018, saying she was throwing up and wouldn't be coming to the office.

The building that houses Berkeley Engineering and Research in Berkeley, California, where David Xu and Rong Yuan worked. (Google Maps)

"You should work from home until you feel better. No reason to rush in," Xu responded. "I think BEAR is moldy."

Yuan had a similar feeling after drinking from her desk water bottle in January 2019, recalling "I’m going to die." Her mother drank from the water bottle and realized there was a sour taste, sparking suspicions her water was being tampered with. She then ordered a spy camera off Amazon.

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Yuan placed the camera on her desk on Feb. 11, 2019, and Xu could be seen at 11:04 a.m. reaching for the area where her water bottle was.

Another video on March 4, 2019, shows Xu pouring something into Yuan's water bottle.

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"My blood was frozen," Yuan said after watching the video. "I almost died. I experienced death so, so close so many times. I cannot let him go."

Berkeley is pictured with San Francisco in the background. (Neal Wong/Getty Images)

She turned over the video to the Berkeley Police Department shortly after.

Xu finished his probation in March. While he is asking for the conviction to be expunged, it would still remain on his record.

Fox News Digital reached out to Xu's attorney for comment.