Ricin Letter Suspect Paul Kevin Curtis Released
Ricin letter suspect Paul Kevin Curtis was released on bond on Tuesday, the day after he appeared in court. During the hearing, investigators stated they did not find any evidence of the poison in Curtis home or car.
Curtis, a resident of Corinth, Mississippi, was arrested at his home the day after a letter with ricin poison was discovered addressed to Senator Roger Wicker (R-MS).
A second letter also tainted with ricin was intercepted before it reached President Barack Obama. A third letter was also mailed to Sadie Holland, a justice of the peace in Lee County, Mississippi.
The 45-year-old man was formally charged last week with sending mail that contained a threat to kill or harm the president. He was also charged with sending mail containing a threat to injure the president. Curtis plead not guilty on both counts.
The US Marshall’s office in Oxford, Mississippi confirmed the ricin letter suspect’s release from jail where he had been kept since last week on formal charges.
Tuesday was supposed to be the third day of Curtis’ bond hearing. Instead, the proceedings were cancelled after Curtis’s lawyers met privately with prosecutors. The suspect’s attorney called for his released on Monday after prosecutors admitted they found no evidence of ricin in Curtis’s home or car.
The investigators also testified that there were no ricin-making tools found and no internet searches for how to make the drug was discovered on the suspect’s computer. Curtis’s attorney, Christi McCoy, stated that there was no evidence her client had even committed the crime he was accused of. She stated on Monday:
“There continues to be more and more evidence, or lack of evidence, that’s being fleshed out. The big part that we took from the testimony is that thorough and complete searches were done of Mr. Curtis’s residence, his former wife’s residence, as well as his vehicle … and there was nothing found on anything that linked him to these crimes.”
Authorities added that there will be a press conference at 6 pm local time for more information on the case against Paul Kevin Curtis.
