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Miss. man admits to poisoning milk at dairy farm

JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) – A Mississippi man pleaded guilty to tampering with a consumer product on Tuesday.

Officials said 41-year-old Alfred Thornhill was employed at a dairy farm near Crystal Springs when he poured chlorine, acid and bleach into a stainless steel container of milk right after the milk had been collected from the cows in March of 2014.

According to the Department of Justice, the toxic chemicals were discovered in the milk by the farm’s owner just before the milk was to be picked up for transportation to a distribution center in New Orleans. The poisonous contents were confirmed by a lab analysis.

According to evidence disclosed during the guilty plea hearing, Thornhill confessed that he poisoned the milk because he was angry at the dairy farm owner and intended to ruin the milk in order to financially harm the dairy farmer.

Thornhill will be sentenced in January. He faces a maximum penalty of three years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine, as well as payment of restitution to the dairy farm.