Evidence Mounts in Ricin Investigation Against Mississippi Taekwondo Instructor

An 8-page document divulges the evidence the FBI collected before charging James Everett Dutchske in the ricin letter Investigation.

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Evidence is mounting against a Mississippi man who is alleged to have mailed ricin poison to President Obama, Mississippi Senator Roger Wicker, and a local judge in mid-April. In an 8-page affidavit unsealed Tuesday, FBI agents revealed a list of  physical and circumstantial evidence for the changing of James Everett Dutchske, 41, of Tupelo, Miss. The court document reveals the FBI had been following Dutchske for almost two weeks after their original suspect, Paul Kevin Curtis, was released from police custody. The poisoned letters, signed “I am KC and I approve this message,” initially led investigators to Curtis. But Curtis, who works as an Elvis impersonator, swore his innocence and pointed to his “personal enemy,” Dutchske, as the potential ricin-mailer.

In recent days, Investigators were seen collecting evidence from Dutchske’s former workplace, a taekwondo studio in Tupelo, as well as from his nearby home, where they seized his computer and external hard drive. The document also notes correspondence between Dutchske and an unidentified person possibly discussing plans to get rid of evidence. FBI agents later spotted Dutchske disposing items at a public trash can, including a coffee grinder and latex gloves, in addition to a protective mask, which has since tested positive for ricin at a lab.