Pitt researcher charged in poisoning death of wife, a Pitt professor

A witness’s testimony that a Pitt researcher allegedly asked for help purchasing cyanide just days before his wife died from poisoning is one reason police are now seeking to apprehend the researcher in connection with the murder of his wife.

According to a criminal complaint filed by the City of Pittsburgh Bureau of Police, Dr. Robert J. Ferrante, 65, a professor in Pitt’s Department of Neurological Surgery, is charged with criminal homicide. His wife and the alleged victim, the late Dr. Autumn Marie Klein, 41, was an assistant professor of neurology at Pitt’s School of Medicine and the chief of the Division of Women’s Neurology at UPMC. The district attorney has issued a warrant for Ferrante’s arrest Wednesday in connection with Klein’s death last April.

Pitt spokesman John Fedele said that the University, after reviewing documents related to the charges against Ferrante,  placed on him on indefinite leave Thursday afternoon, effective immediately.

Fedele said the University has cooperated and continues to cooperate with authorities who are investigating Klein’s death.

The Allegheny County Office of the Medical Examiner said in a statement that it identified the cause of Klein’s death as cyanide poisoning after a sample of her blood was analyzed at an outside laboratory and found to contain lethal levels of the poison.

Detectives are currently seeking Ferrante, according to a statement Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala’s office released Thursday. A court order issued Wednesday placed Ferrante’s child in the custody of the child’s maternal grandparents. An additional court order issued Thursday froze Ferrante’s assets at 15 separate financial institutions.

The district attorney’s office declined to comment further on progress in apprehending Ferrante or answer other questions.

John Warren, a civilian manager with Pittsburgh city police, said the department had no comment on the case.

William H. Difenderfer, an attorney for Ferrante, was not available for immediate comment.

According to the police complaint, Ferrante called 911 late on the night of April 17 and reported that his wife was “‘like having a seizure.’” Paramedics transported Klein to UPMC Presbyterian Hospital.

The  complaint describes Klein’s condition in the emergency room there as having been “unresponsive, in respiratory distress,” having elevated acidity levels in her blood and having “had a low heart rate.” She also did not respond to medication.

Klein passed away shortly after midnight April 20.

When lab results later found cyanide in Klein’s blood. According to the complaint, Ferrante asked investigators, “‘Why would she do that to herself?’” when they told him about this finding,

But detectives ruled out suicide. Not only would Klein not have access to the poison that killed her, she was making plans very shortly before she began to show symptoms of poisoning.

According to the medical examiner’s statement, the symptoms she exhibited at Presby were consistent with cyanide poisoning.

Several witnesses, none of whom are identified by name in the complaint, who saw Ferrante during his wife’s treatment reported cause for suspicion.

One witness said that when Ferrante arrived at Presby and saw Klein on the exam table, his reaction “seemed fake and like ‘bad acting.’” Another witness reported to police that he began asking whether an autopsy would be performed April 18, while Klein was still alive. Yet another witness reported that Ferrante said he wanted to spend the night of April 19 with Klein, and explained,  “’I’m going to spend the last night with the love of my life.’”

According to the complaint, Ferrante reportedly asked that Klein’s remains be cremated without consulting her parents.

Another witness who had been Klein’s friend for seven of eight years told police that in February she told him that she planned to leave Ferrante because he “did not give any support with her job or their daughter.”

Ferrante also allegedly confronted Klein three times to accuse her of having an affair during the weeks before her death.

According to the police complaint, two other individuals told police that they helped Ferrante purchase cyanide on April 15. Ferrante allegedly asked one of the witnesses to make sure he could get the “best and purest,” and paid for the 250 grams of potassium cyanide he ordered through a method outside of the normal purchasing systems for the lab he oversaw. The delivery arrived the next day.

Investigators later examined a list of chemicals Ferrante ordered after a search warrant for such a list was issued. The only chemical not listed as associated with a specific project or grant number was this order of cyanide.

Fedele said that once the investigation began to focus on Ferrante, the University barred him from accessing the lab in which he worked.

Despite the evidence against Ferrante, Zappala emphasized that he was, as U.S. criminal law dictates, presumed innocent until proven guilty.

“From this point forward, my primary obligation is to protect the defendant’s presumption of

innocence and ensure, to the best of my ability, his right to a fair trial,” Zappala said in his statement.