This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/apr/23/ricin-poison-letter-obama-senator-judge
The article has changed 5 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| No ricin in home of man accused of sending poison letter to Obama | No ricin in home of man accused of sending poison letter to Obama |
| (17 days later) | |
| Investigators have not found any ricin in the house of a man accused of mailing poisoned letters to President Barack Obama, a US senator and a local judge, according to testimony from an FBI agent. The letters were intercepted in the post just after last week's bombings at the Boston Marathon, triggering memories of the anthrax letter scare that followed the September 11 terror attacks in America in 2001. | Investigators have not found any ricin in the house of a man accused of mailing poisoned letters to President Barack Obama, a US senator and a local judge, according to testimony from an FBI agent. The letters were intercepted in the post just after last week's bombings at the Boston Marathon, triggering memories of the anthrax letter scare that followed the September 11 terror attacks in America in 2001. |
| Agent Brandon Grant said that a search of Paul Kevin Curtis's vehicle and house in Corinth, Mississippi, on Friday did not turn up ricin or ingredients for the poison. A search of Curtis's computers has found no evidence so far that he researched making ricin. "There was no apparent ricin, castor beans or any material there that could be used for the manufacturing, like a blender or something," Grant testified. He speculated that Curtis could have thrown away the processor. | Agent Brandon Grant said that a search of Paul Kevin Curtis's vehicle and house in Corinth, Mississippi, on Friday did not turn up ricin or ingredients for the poison. A search of Curtis's computers has found no evidence so far that he researched making ricin. "There was no apparent ricin, castor beans or any material there that could be used for the manufacturing, like a blender or something," Grant testified. He speculated that Curtis could have thrown away the processor. |
| Through his lawyer, Curtis has denied involvement in letters sent to Obama, Mississippi Republican senator Roger Wicker and a judge from Lee County, Mississippi. The letters, bearing a Memphis, Tennessee, postmark, were detected beginning 15 April, the day of the explosions in Boston. Curtis's lawyer said in court that someone may have framed him, suggesting that a former co-worker with whom Curtis had an extended exchange of angry emails may have set him up. | Through his lawyer, Curtis has denied involvement in letters sent to Obama, Mississippi Republican senator Roger Wicker and a judge from Lee County, Mississippi. The letters, bearing a Memphis, Tennessee, postmark, were detected beginning 15 April, the day of the explosions in Boston. Curtis's lawyer said in court that someone may have framed him, suggesting that a former co-worker with whom Curtis had an extended exchange of angry emails may have set him up. |
| Grant testified that authorities believe that they have the right suspect, and said lab analysis showed the poison to be a crude form that could have been created by grinding castor beans in a food processor or coffee grinder. "That would be a low-tech way of doing it. You're just blending up the beans to get the ricin that's on the inside on the outside," Grant testified. | Grant testified that authorities believe that they have the right suspect, and said lab analysis showed the poison to be a crude form that could have been created by grinding castor beans in a food processor or coffee grinder. "That would be a low-tech way of doing it. You're just blending up the beans to get the ricin that's on the inside on the outside," Grant testified. |
| Federal investigators believe the letters were mailed by Curtis, an Elvis impersonator who family members say suffers from bipolar disorder. He wore an orange jumpsuit from the Lafayette County Detention Center in court on Monday and was quiet and attentive, sometimes whispering to Christi McCoy, his lawyer. McCoy continued to emphasize that the federal government has produced little physical evidence linking her client to the crime. She said she would seek to have US magistrate judge J Allan Alexander declare there was no probable cause that Curtis committed the crime, and have him released. | Federal investigators believe the letters were mailed by Curtis, an Elvis impersonator who family members say suffers from bipolar disorder. He wore an orange jumpsuit from the Lafayette County Detention Center in court on Monday and was quiet and attentive, sometimes whispering to Christi McCoy, his lawyer. McCoy continued to emphasize that the federal government has produced little physical evidence linking her client to the crime. She said she would seek to have US magistrate judge J Allan Alexander declare there was no probable cause that Curtis committed the crime, and have him released. |
| Grant testified on Friday that authorities had tried to track down the sender of the letters by using a list of Wicker's constituents with the initials KC, the same initials in the letters. Grant said the list was whittled from thousands to about 100 when investigators isolated the ones who lived in an area that would have a Memphis, Tennessee, postmark, which includes many places in north Mississippi. He said Wicker's staff recognized Curtis's name as someone who had written to the senator before. The letters also contained lines that were on Curtis's Facebook page, including the phrase "I am KC and I approve this message," Grant said. | Grant testified on Friday that authorities had tried to track down the sender of the letters by using a list of Wicker's constituents with the initials KC, the same initials in the letters. Grant said the list was whittled from thousands to about 100 when investigators isolated the ones who lived in an area that would have a Memphis, Tennessee, postmark, which includes many places in north Mississippi. He said Wicker's staff recognized Curtis's name as someone who had written to the senator before. The letters also contained lines that were on Curtis's Facebook page, including the phrase "I am KC and I approve this message," Grant said. |
| All the envelopes and stamps were self-adhesive, Grant said on Monday, meaning they would not yield DNA evidence. He said thus far the envelopes and letters had not yielded any fingerprints. McCoy said the evidence linking Curtis, 45, to the crime has hinged on his writings posted online, which were accessible to anyone. | All the envelopes and stamps were self-adhesive, Grant said on Monday, meaning they would not yield DNA evidence. He said thus far the envelopes and letters had not yielded any fingerprints. McCoy said the evidence linking Curtis, 45, to the crime has hinged on his writings posted online, which were accessible to anyone. |
| Much of Monday's testimony focused on Curtis' prior run-ins with police and evidence about his mental health. McCoy asked: "The fact that this man may be suffering from a form of mental illness, how does this make it make it more likely than not that Mr Curtis committed to these crimes?" | Much of Monday's testimony focused on Curtis' prior run-ins with police and evidence about his mental health. McCoy asked: "The fact that this man may be suffering from a form of mental illness, how does this make it make it more likely than not that Mr Curtis committed to these crimes?" |
| Grant said that it did not, but said past evidence about mental state "helps establish a potential behavior background for Mr Curtis, perhaps not realizing what he's doing". | Grant said that it did not, but said past evidence about mental state "helps establish a potential behavior background for Mr Curtis, perhaps not realizing what he's doing". |
| Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning. | |
| Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning. Enter your email address to subscribe. |