A US suspect has pleaded not guilty to mailing cyanide to a suicidal Briton as part of an alleged bid to prevent a moneymaking scheme being exposed.
Federal investigators say Sidney Kilmartin, from Maine, advertised and mailed a substance he claimed was cyanide to several suicidal people. The substance was actually Epsom salt, a common magnesium sulphate treatment used in everything from bath salts to health products to agricultural fertiliser.
But prosecutors say he mailed the real thing to Andrew Denton of Hull, northern England, in 2012 to keep him from telling investigators about his scheme.
Denton, 49, used the cyanide to take his life.
Kilmartin pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to federal charges of mailing injurious articles resulting in death, as well as wire fraud, mail fraud, witness tampering and witness retaliation. He had previously pleaded not guilty to charges in Denton’s suicide but those charges were superseded by the latest counts.
Kilmartin’s attorney did not immediately respond to a call seeking comment.
- In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Hotline is 1-800-273-8255. In the UK, the Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is on 13 11 14. Hotlines in other countries can be found here
Associated Press contributed to this report
