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July 25, 2008 4:21:09 PM CDT

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Utah Home Searched in Ricin Case

Posted Mar 3, 08 7:03 AM CST in Science & Health,  Crime & Courts,  US 

(Newser) – FBI agents yesterday searched the former Utah home of a man clinging to life after apparent ricin poisoning in his Las Vegas hotel room. Neighbors within a two-block area were evacuated but were later allowed to return to their homes.  Local residents described the man as a mild-mannered, down-on-his-luck loner who could be inexplicably vindictive at times. "I never felt comfortable around him," said one neighbor.

The hotel guest was hospitalized in Las Vegas two weeks ago after suffering from respiratory problems. Several vials containing the deadly poison as well as firearms and an "anarchist-type textbook” were found in his hotel room, according to investigators. He remains unconscious and police have been unable to question him about the source of the poison.

Source Salt Lake Tribune

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FBI Special Agent in Charge Tim Fuhrman answers questions during a news conference Sunday, March 2, 2008, in Riverton, Utah. FBI agents searched a Utah house and two storage units linked to a man whose...   (Associated Press)
A person dressed in a HAZMAT outfit works outside a home Sunday, March 2, 2008, in Riverton, Utah. FBI agents searched the house and two storage units linked to a man whose hospitalization led to the...   (Associated Press)
A fireman works outside a home Sunday, March 2, 2008, in Riverton, Utah. FBI agents searched the house and two storage units linked to a man whose hospitalization led to the discovery of deadly ricin...   (Associated Press)
Emergency personnel work outside a home Sunday, March 2, 2008, in Riverton, Utah. FBI agents searched the house and two storage units linked to a man whose hospitalization led to the discovery of deadly...   (Associated Press)
In this Thursday, April 15, 2004 picture, office manager Kristina Damico holds castor seeds at Sheffield's Seed Co. in Locke, N.Y. Damico alerted the FBI when a large order for castor seeds, that can...   (Associated Press)
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FBI  • Las Vegas  • Utah  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention  • poison  • toxin  • ricin  • storage


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