O'Bryan, a suburban Houston optician, shocked the city and the nation when it was discovered he replaced some of the sugary powder inside five Giant Pixy Stix with enough cyanide to kill two or three grown men each. Only Timothy Marc O'Bryan ate the deadly confection and died shortly afterward. Four other children, including Timothy's younger sister, received the straws but did not ingest their contents. It sure brought it into sharp focus that the potential is certainly there,'' said Mike Ellis, director of the Southeast Texas Poison Center. He suggests that the parents of children who go door to door either purchase candy to replace gathered sweets or ensure their kids visit trusted homes.
Experts recommend that parents closely inspect all candy collected.
Hard, individually wrapped treats tend to be the safest from molestation. Hospitals and other agencies often provide free X-ray examinations of fruits and other sweets that might contain foreign objects. They found him holding it asleep. That was what was horrible, his willingness to sacrifice other kids to cover it up. O'Bryan never admitted to killing his son.