Bride arrested for poisoning 17 people in botched attempt to kill husband

A newly-married woman in Pakistan has been arrested on suspicion of murder after he and over a dozen of his relatives died.

The woman, from the rural area of Muzaffargarh, is thought to have tried to kill her new husband. Police believe she tried to make him sick with a glass of poisoned milk. He did not drink the milk, however, and it was used by his mother to make a batch of lassi, a yogurt drink. He and members of his family then drank the lassi. The drink is believed to have killed 17 family members, while ten more are receiving medical treatment, reports CBS. The woman, 21-year-old Asiya Bibi, has been arrested and charged with murder, a police official told the BBC. A man thought to be her lover and his aunt were also arrested. Police claim she confessed to poisoning the milk intended for her husband in custody. Local media reports claim that Asiya had been forced to marry her groom, 25-year-old Amjad Akram against her will in September. She fled their marital home after they wed in an attempt to get back to her family but was forcibly brought back to her husband. The BBC reports that arranged marriages like this are still common in certain parts of rural Pakistan.