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Dateline introduced viewers to a chilling case of domestic betrayal in an episode titled, The Prussian Blue Mystery. The central figure in this true crime story is Race Remington Uto. He was a sailor stationed at Naval Base Point Loma in San Diego. Uto, an Electrician’s Mate 3rd Class, was 27 years old when his plot to murder his wife came to light.
Dateline: The Prussian Blue Mystery
A hidden, deadly toxin
Race Uto slowly poisoned his wife, Brigida Uto, over many months. He used thallium, a highly toxic heavy metal. Thallium once served as a pesticide for killing rats. The U.S. banned its use in 1972. Uto intentionally mixed doses of this poison into her food and drinks. The toxin worked slowly, which made the crime difficult to detect at first.
Disturbing symptoms and discovery
Brigida Uto started feeling ill as far back as September 2017. Her health deteriorated severely over the following months. She suffered tremendous pain and neurological damage. Brigida lost all of her hair. She also experienced severe nerve damage in her limbs.
By the time she was hospitalized in March 2018, she could barely walk. Physicians then discovered an alarming level of thallium in her body. The medical staff and investigators quickly concluded her exposure was intentional. San Diego County Sheriff's Lt. Greg Rylaarsdam noted the high thallium levels. This led to a joint investigation.
Dateline covered the details of the ensuing police work. The FBI, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, and the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office all worked together.
The evidence and arrest
Investigators secured a hazmat team to search the Uto family home. Within weeks, the team found enough evidence to arrest the sailor. The evidence confirmed that Race Uto had systematically tried to murder his wife. Dateline showed how the complex investigation pieced together the disturbing facts. Race Uto was arrested at Naval Medical Center San Diego on March 29. His bail was set at $2 million.
The guilty plea and sentence
Race Remington Uto later pleaded guilty to attempted murder. He accepted his attempt to kill his wife by feeding her doses of rat poison. The guilty plea concluded the criminal aspect of The Prussian Blue Mystery. Uto was scheduled to be sentenced in March 2019. He faced a potential prison term of 21 years to life.
The impact on Brigida Uto
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The poison caused terrible, lasting injuries to Brigida Uto. Before the poisoning, she worked as a special education teacher. Physicians believed her recovery would take anywhere from several months to a few years. She needed intensive rehabilitation. She required care and specialized equipment for an unknown time to fully regain feeling and walk again.
Dateline highlighted the devastating personal cost of Uto’s crime. Race and Brigida Uto shared a young son, then 3 years old. The trauma affected the entire family. Dateline reports often focus on the victims. It ensured that viewers understood the severity of Brigida’s ongoing struggle and gave closure to the story with the guilty plea.
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