Dawn Sturgess

Dawn Sturgess was a 44-year-old British woman who died in July 2018 after being exposed to the Novichok nerve agent in Amesbury, Wiltshire. She was an innocent victim inadvertently caught up in the aftermath of the poisoning of Sergei Skripal, a former Russian spy, and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury. Sturgess's death is currently newsworthy because a recent public inquiry has concluded that Russian President Vladimir Putin bears "moral responsibility" for her death. The inquiry also highlighted concerns that the UK government has not adequately learned lessons from the incident to prevent future occurrences. Her family has expressed their relief at the inquiry's findings that cleared her of any blame but also voiced their disappointment that more hasn't been done to protect the public. They are now preparing to lay her to rest, seven years after her death, seeking closure and hoping for greater accountability.