Man Investigated for Allegedly Using Mystery Powder to Kill Fetus
Police say restaurateur rubbed girlfriend with powder to end pregnancy.
April 19, 2010— -- An investigation into a renowned restaurateur who has been accused of inducing a miscarriage with a white powder turned up new evidence this week, an official with the Los Angeles Police Department said.
Police arrested Joshua Woodward, 37, co-owner of the Table 8 restaurants in Los Angeles and South Beach, last October a week after his then-girlfriend reported he had smeared a white powder on her before she miscarried.
"She made an initial report that she had a miscarriage and felt very strongly that he [Woodward] was the cause of the miscarriage," said Capt. Fabian Lizarraga, commanding officer of the juvenile division at the LAPD.
Lizarraga said Woodward's former girlfriend -- who remains anonymous -- noticed a white powder in her apartment after spending the night with Woodward.
"It was introduced during the night that they spent together, as delicately as I can put it," Lizarraga said. "It was during that session, and after that she felt uneasy, she felt ... not good and she had the miscarriage."
Police met Woodward a week later as he was returning to Los Angeles from a business trip on his way to see his then-girlfriend. Lizarraga said detectives allegedly noticed Woodward pull out a bag of white powder from his pocket and drop it.
Woodward was detained and released without charges. Lizarraga said police did not have enough evidence to press charges until they identified the curious white powder.
"It came back earlier this week that it [the bag police allegedly found on Woodward] did test positive for misoprostol," Lizarraga said.
Lizarraga said police are not ready to go after Woodward yet. "We're waiting for further analysis to come back from what we found of a powder at her apartment," he said.
The Los Angeles Times first reported the new developments in the investigation on April 16.
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