VAN NUYS : Jeweler’s Cyanide Death Ruled Suicide
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The poisoning death of a Van Nuys jeweler after a domestic quarrel last month has been ruled a suicide, the Los Angeles County coroner’s office said Tuesday.
Rodolpho Tamasco, 50, died Feb. 20 of potassium cyanide poisoning in the garage of his house in the 6700 block of Jellico Avenue, where he operated a jewelry repair business. He was found dead in the garage near a container of heated potassium cyanide, which he used to clean gold, Los Angles police said.
Police investigators had thought that Tamasco’s death could have been accidental. Potassium cyanide, a strong poison, is commonly used to clean jewelry and can become a lethal gas.
Officers had been summoned to the house that night after Tamasco allegedly struck his wife, police said.
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