Guest Dies and Groom Is Ill After Bride Poisons Wedding Food

Since most weddings last several hours, to-be-weds usually serve food of some sort—whether that be a sit-down dinner, a buffet spread, a food truck, or another arrangement—at their affair to make sure their guests are properly nourished and adequately fueled for the festivities. Aside from the occasional thought that a chicken breast may be undercooked or that the lettuce in a salad may be unwashed, for the average person, the possibility that the fare may be tainted wouldn’t even cross their mind. Especially if the wedding is a friend’s or relative’s, the last thing an attendee worries about is ingesting poison. Shockingly, this seemingly rare situation actually happened on a few recent occasions.

According to 21st Century Chronicle on January 3, 2025, at a wedding in the Jahun Local Government Area of Jigawa in Nigeria, a bride and another female suspect allegedly poisoned the wedding food, leading to the death of one attendee and the hospitalization of others—including the groom, who is still in critical condition. “We received a report that the bride had tainted the food served at the wedding reception, leaving the groom critically ill,” said state police officer Shi’isu Adam. “Police have arrested two suspects, the bride and another female, in connection with the alleged food poisoning incident that occurred during a wedding ceremony in the state.”

Adam explained that those who ingested the poisoned food (whose identities haven’t been disclosed) were admitted to the hospital and were eventually discharged, with the exception of one victim who has been confirmed dead, per the outlet. The two suspects are now in custody and are undergoing interrogation by the Criminal Investigation Department of the command. According to eyewitnesses, the bride may have had a “personal vendetta” that motivated the unlawful act. “The command is currently investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident, and we will provide more details as soon as possible,” Adam concluded. “We urge the public to remain calm and assured that justice will be served.”

Another incident related to poisoned food happened at a wedding on January 7, 2025, in the Utre village under Panhala tehsil in the Kolhapur district of the Maharashtra state of India, according to The Telegraph India. The outlet reported that the bride’s uncle, identified as Mahesh Patil, mixed poison in all of the food at her wedding celebration after she eloped with a man, because he didn’t support her marriage. “Since, it was not acceptable to Patil, he gate-crashed the wedding reception ceremony at a marriage hall on Tuesday and mixed a poisonous substance in the food items which were being prepared for the guests,” recounted Mahesh Kondubhairi, Panhala police station’s sub-inspector.

Luckily, some of the guests caught the man in action, so no one consumed the poisoned fare. After seeing the bride’s uncle adding a poisonous substance to the already prepared food, some of the witnesses tried to stop him, but he quickly fled the scene. He’s now being charged for endangering people’s lives, the publication reported. “We have registered an offense against him under sections 286 (negligent conduct with respect to poisonous substance), 125 (act endangering life or personal safety of others), and other relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS),” Kondubhairi stated. “Efforts are on to nab him.” The poisoned food has been sent to a lab for further investigation.