NJ chemist pleads not guilty to poisoning husband

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. (AP) — A New Jersey chemist has pleaded not guilty to charges she fatally poisoned her estranged husband with a highly toxic metal.

Tianle Li of Monroe Township, who worked for Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., made her plea through her attorney this afternoon in state Superior Court in New Brunswick.

Authorities say she was in the process of divorcing her 39-year-old husband when he died Jan 26.

Xiaoye Wang had checked into a hospital Jan. 14, complaining of flulike symptoms. Prosecutors say tests showed he had been poisoned by thallium, an element once used as rat poison.

Li’s lawyer, Steven Altman, is seeking to have her $4 million bail reduced.

Li did not speak during the brief hearing. Her former employer, Bristol-Myers, is a biopharmaceutical company based in New York.