Woman Accused of Drugging Tea at Meeting Over Missing Money

A cup of tea was waiting when a woman arrived to question an acquaintance about suspicious banking activity. Prosecutors say the drink had been drugged, and the woman collapsed as she left the restaurant.

Rohweniven Bacani, 52, of Hackensack, New Jersey, was charged with third-degree aggravated assault October 14 and arrested the following day. The charge follows a September 8 meeting at a Fort Lee restaurant, according to the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office account reported by local outlets.

The woman survived and spent several days in a hospital. In the October 16 announcement, authorities said she was recovering.

Questions About Financial Accounts

The meeting was arranged after the woman discovered unauthorized activity in financial accounts to which Bacani also had access, prosecutors said. The two knew one another, and the woman wanted to discuss what she had found.

When the woman reached the restaurant, Bacani was already seated. A cup of tea had been prepared for her arrival, investigators said.

She drank part of it, then noticed a taste she considered unusual and stopped. According to prosecutors, she subsequently collapsed while leaving and next remembered being in a hospital.

A Medical Emergency Became an Investigation

Leonia police learned September 11 that a local resident had been hospitalized after a serious medical episode that might have resulted from poisoning. That report came three days after the restaurant meeting.

The woman believed Bacani had poisoned her, according to the prosecutor’s account. Police and the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office began a joint investigation into the encounter and her hospitalization.

Investigators eventually alleged that a benzodiazepine had been added to the tea. Benzodiazepines are a class of controlled drugs; the reporting identifies the class rather than a specific product.

Charges Filed Weeks Later

Detectives located Bacani outside her Hackensack residence and took her into custody, according to Daily Voice and News 12.

She was taken to the Bergen County Jail pending an initial appearance in Superior Court in Hackensack.

The announced charge concerns the alleged poisoning. Prosecutors described the disputed banking activity as the reason for the meeting but did not announce a separate financial-crime charge in their account.

Bacani has not been convicted in the case.

References: Hackensack Woman Poisoned Acquaintance’s Tea During Meeting Over Missing Money: Prosecutor | Hackensack woman accused of poisoning acquaintance’s tea in Fort Lee | Woman Gave Poisoned Tea To Acquaintance At North Jersey Restaurant, Prosecutors Say | Woman Met Acquaintance at Restaurant to Discuss Suspicious Bank Activity. Then She Drank the Tea, and Collapsed

The Truth In Facts team was assisted by generative AI technology in creating this content