Local News in Brief : Couple Die After Drinking Poison
A man believed to have been an FBI informant and his girlfriend drank poison and left behind a suicide tape in which the man said he was tired of deception in his life, Long Beach police said.
William Thomas Natale, 45, and Dawn Andrea Romero, 20, died Friday after apparently drinking cyanide at the home of Natale’s ex-wife. Police, who did not comment on the incident for several days, said it is still unclear whether the deaths were the result of a murder-suicide or double suicide.
Police said Natale had become a federal informant after he was convicted of a drug-conspiracy charge two years ago. The FBI declined to comment on its relationship, if any, with Natale.
Natale and his brother, Anthony Leonard Natale, were indicted in federal court on seven drug charges last year, federal authorities said. Both pleaded guilty.
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