Updates: Ricin Letter Suspect Released on Bond; No Ricin Found in His Home or Car
Investigators in Mississippi were unable to find any evidence of ricin poison in the home or car of Elvis impersonator Paul Kevin Curtis, and today he was released on bond.
Slate also has some interesting details on the ricin found in those letters:
Investigators believe that the ricin in the letters was made by crudely chopping castor beans in a food processor or blender, but authorities found neither device in Curtis’ home. Bolstering his case was the fact that police also found no trace of the poison in his home or car, and no Internet searches for how to make the drug on his computer.
If that’s accurate, then this wasn’t much of an attack at all — the only way that kind of crude ricin would be dangerous is if you sprinkled it on your salad.
And there may be another suspect, according to Curtis’ attorney:
Earlier this week, Curtis’ attorney, Christi McCoy, pointed to another possible suspect she said may have framed her client: alleged child molester and former political hopeful J. Everett Dutschke. Dutschke apparently has a long history with both the judge who was sent the third letter and her son, Steve Holland, a state lawmaker. As the son explained to USA Today, Dutschke “hates the Hollands with a passion.” He ran against, and lost to, Holland in 2007, no doubt explaining at least some of the ill will.
…Here’s USA Today with more on the similarities between Curtis and Dutschke:
According to their online posts, Dutschke and Curtis are both musicians, martial artists and members of Mensa, an international society for people with high IQs. Dutschke says he is an officer in the organization. Both were known for ranting online and writing Internet posts and emails to prominent figures.
MENSA! I knew it. This proves that it’s time to start rounding up and deporting all Mensa members.